PHILADELPHIA — Donna Brazile, who is slated to become the interim chair of the Democratic National Committee, said Monday that outgoing DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz still deserves to be a part of the Democrats’ convention.

“Debbie has spent a lot of time and effort [in] pulling together this convention,” Ms. Brazile said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “She deserves an opportunity to gavel us in, turn it over to the permanent chair, and she deserves an opportunity, I think, to also close us out.”

Ms. Wasserman Schultz said Sunday she’s resigning as DNC chairwoman after the convention, in the wake of the embarrassing leak of thousands of internal DNC emails that appeared to show DNC staffers musing about how to undermine Sen. Bernard Sanders’ campaign.

But she said she still plans to open and close the convention in her role as chair of the DNC.

Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell had said earlier on MSNBC it would be a mistake to let Ms. Wasserman Schultz gavel in the proceedings given what’s happened. Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta was more circumspect, saying on MSNBC it was the choice of Ms. Wasserman Schultz.

Ms. Brazile also said Mrs. Clinton won the primary over Mr. Sanders “fair and square,” and that she, Ms. Brazile, apologized to Mr. Sanders, donors and volunteers.

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