Pete Rouse, a senior adviser who was President Obama's chief of staff in the Senate, is expected to fill the role at least on an interim basis, although several officials said he could wind up in the job permanently.
Obama will make two "personnel announcements" in the East Room at 11:05 a.m. Friday, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Thursday. Obama is expected to announce the Emanuel and Rouse moves at the same time, to maintain as much continuity as possible.
Emanuel has been setting the stage for his departure for weeks, since the moment outgoing Chicago Mayor Richard Daley (D) said he would not run for reelection. The question of whether and when Emanuel would leave has been a sizable distraction, people who work with the White House said, as other senior officials try to assess what the vacancy will mean and what other moves will be set in motion.
Rouse, a longtime former Senate staffer, is a popular choice among the White House staff. Already intimately involved in most major internal decisions, he is seen as a problem-solver, often wrestling with the president's most difficult dilemmas.
He is so well known in the Senate - where for many years he was a senior aide to then-Majority Leader Thomas Daschle - that he was often referred to as the 101st senator. Yet he has a much lower public profile than Emanuel's.
kornbluta@washpost.com cillizzac@washpost.com
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