President George W. Bush on Tuesday will nominate US Trade Representative Rob Portman as his choice to become White House budget director, a senior administration official said.
Bush will also nominate Portman's deputy, Susan Schwab, to become the next US trade representative, the official said.
Bush was to make the announcements in the Rose Garden at 9:20 am EDT (1320 GMT). Both appointments require Senate confirmation. Portman, a former member of the House of Representatives from Ohio who helped Bush win that critical state in the 2004 presidential election, would succeed Josh Bolten as budget director.
If confirmed, Portman would inherit a difficult task of organising a federal budget that is deep in deficit due largely to spending on the Iraq war and Hurricane Katrina.
Bolten is the new White House chief of staff engaged in a staff overhaul to try to breathe new life into Bush's presidency.
In another staff move, White House spokesman Scott McClellan announced the resignation of James Twoey, the director of the White House office that encourages federal funds to go to faith-based groups that help the underprivileged.
Twoey will become president of Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.