Biden to meet with labor chief as he weighs White House run

Vice President Biden is meeting with AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka on Thursday as he contemplates jumping into the race for the White House, according to Reuters.

The meeting with the labor chief is the latest sign that Biden is seriously considering a challenge to Hillary Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic nomination.

Biden on Wednesday said he has been assessing whether he has the “emotional fuel” necessary to launch a presidential bid following the death of his son Beau in May.

{mosads}“If I were to announce to run, I have to be able to commit to all of you that I would be able to give it my whole heart and my whole soul, and right now both are pretty well banged up, and we’re trying to figure out that issue,” Biden said in a conference call with Democratic National Committee members Wednesday.

Talk of a Biden run has been building since he made a surprise visit to Washington, D.C., on Saturday to meet with progressive favorite Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a liberal favorite whose endorsement should prove powerful in the party’s primary.

The vice president is also scheduled to meet with several top Democratic donors after the Labor Day weekend.

Thursday’s talk with Trumka will add fuel to the fire; labor unions are a crucial part of the Democratic coalition, providing substantial money and manpower.

The AFL-CIO, a labor federation representing 56 labor unions and more than 12.5 million workers, has yet to endorse a candidate for 2016. It declined to comment on the reported meeting with Biden.

National Nurses United, which represents more than 190,000 nurses nationwide, recently endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

The American Federation of Teachers, one of the nation’s largest and most powerful unions, endorsed Clinton last month.