Vance emerges as Trump's VP pick, with Rubio and Burgum out

Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) has emerged as a front-runner to be Trump’s running mate.

Sources had for weeks said Vance, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum were the finalists for the job. But Rubio and Burgum were both told Monday they were not the pick.

Trump is expected to announce the long-awaited vice presidential pick Monday afternoon, as the Republican National Committee kicks off its convention in Milwaukee.

A GOP official confirmed to The Hill earlier that the former president has officially decided whom his No. 2 will be, and Trump himself told Fox News’s Bret Baier in a phone interview Monday morning that he would announce his running mate later in the day.

Trump’s running mate will make an in-person appearance at 4:37 p.m. EDT, at the beginning of the vice presidential nomination process, a source familiar told The Hill.

Donald Trump Jr. has advocated for Vance, who was a fierce Trump critic in 2016 but has since become a fierce ally of the former president.

A Vance spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Trump has also named Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) as a potential choice. Other dark horse contenders incl...