The Latest: Trump taps Christie to lead transition team
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on the 2016 presidential race (all times local):
11:10 a.m.
Donald Trump is tapping New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to lead the transition team that will usher in a Trump administration if he wins the White House.
It's a plum post for the governor who endorsed Trump back in February, when his success in the primaries was far from assured.
Christie's own Republican presidential race failed, and he earned derision back in New Jersey for backing Trump. But since then Trump has driven all remaining competitors out of the nomination contest.
Since that happened last week, Trump's team has been playing catch-up as it works to prepare for the general election, quickly adding staff, building a finance operation and reaching out to Republican leaders.
Christie has been a key adviser behind the scenes.
Trump says in a statement that Christie is "an extremely knowledgeable and loyal person with the tools and resources to put together an unparalleled transition team."
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10:30 a.m.
Bernie Sanders is imploring supporters in New Jersey to keep fighting despite his long odds. He says "Don't let anybody tell you this campaign is over."
Sanders trails Hillary Clinton by nearly 300 delegates won in primaries and caucuses, but vows to press on into the Democratic convention.
He told an Atlantic City rally he hopes for wins in New Jersey, California and other states on June 7 to narrow the gap against Clinton.
If he can win a majority of the delegates from the primary season, he says, he can come out of the convention with the nomination.
But Sanders would have to win 66 percent of the remaining pledged delegates. So far, he is winning just 45 percent. And he trails even more when the party insiders known as superdelegates are included.
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9 a.m.
Sarah Palin isn't taking kindly to House Speaker Paul Ryan's decision to hold off on a Donald Trump endorsement. She's declared that Ryan's "political career is over, but for a miracle," and says she'll work for his defeat in the August Wisconsin GOP primary.
Palin was the vice presidential candidate on the Republican ticket in 2008 and now is a prominent Trump supporter. On Monday, Trump declined to echo Palin's harsh words about the speaker from a day earlier, saying, "Sarah is very much a free agent."
The presumptive presidential nominee drove his remaining rivals out of the race but is struggling to close the deal with party insiders like Ryan.
The two are expected to meet this week.