California Sen. Kamala Harris has made an unusual fundraising move that is sure to fuel speculation about her prospects to be Joe Biden's running mate on the Democratic presidential ticket.

Harris, who dropped out of the White House race in December, has set up the kind of arrangement with the Democratic National Committee that is typically reserved for nominees trying to attract large donations from the party’s biggest boosters.

The senator and the DNC filed paperwork for the arrangement Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission, in the first deal of this kind for Democrats this election cycle. Biden and the party chairman, Tom Perez, had been hesitant to enter into the arrangement while Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders was still actively campaigning against Biden. But Sanders suspended his campaign Wednesday, making Biden the presumptive nominee.

Party officials did not say whether they have asked other former candidates for a similar fundraising arrangement, but that could become moot now that Biden no longer must navigate Sanders as a rival. Regardless, it's a testament to Harris' good standing among some of the party's top donors.

Biden praised Harris when she ended her presidential bid. He said she was qualified to be president or vice president and noted that the former prosecutor could be an able attorney general or Supreme Court justice. His aides have dismissed any notion that hard feelings carried over from Harris’ aggressive attacks on Biden in a June presidential primary debate.

Source: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/vp-talk-intensify-harris-dnc-fundraising-deal-70045137