Montclair resident Jeh Johnson will be nominated by President Obama as the next Homeland Security secretary, according to a U.S. Senate aide briefed by the White House on the nomination.
Johnson, former Pentagon General Counsel, is expected to be nominated by Obama on Friday. Johnson would replace Janet Napolitano, who left the president’s cabinet in the summer to become the head of the University of California system.
The aide requested anonymity because the decision has not been made public.
Johnson, who lives in Montclair but is a native of New York City, is a longtime Obama supporter with a decorated legal career.
He has a robust resume as a government attorney beginning in 1989 when he served as federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York from until 1991. After a stint in private practice, he became the general counsel to the United States Air Force in 1998, a position he held until 2001.
Since 2009, he has served as the general counsel to the Pentagon, where he has been heavily involved in the Obama administration’s counter-terrorism policies.
As with any nomination to the president’s cabinet, Johnson’s nomination is subject to Senate confirmation.
If confirmed, Johnson would be the second person with ties to New Jersey to hold the position since the office was created following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Michael Chertoff, of Elizabeth, was the second person to hold the position, succeeding Tom Ridge in 2005.
The White House did not respond to requests for comment.