ABC News' Yunji de Nies and David Chalian report:
White House sources tell ABC News that President Obama will nominate New York Republican Congressman John McHugh as Secretary of the Army.
Now in his ninth term, McHugh is the ranking Republican member of the House Armed Services Committee. He is also a senior member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and previously served on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
McHugh will become the fourth Republican to join a high ranking position within the administration. The group now includes Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, and Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, who will serve as ambassador to China.
The president will make the announcement at 11:55 a.m.
New York will be home to another special House election in a potentially competitive district for the second time this year.
McHugh represents New York’s 23rd congressional district upstate in the North Country. He was first elected to the House in 1992.
He won with 63 percent of the vote in 2006 and 65 percent of the vote in 2008.
But it is potentially a more competitive district than the support McHugh received as the incumbent might suggest.
One estimate (by swingstateproject.com) of the presidential vote in NY-23 in 2008 shows Obama beat McCain in the district by five points (52 percent to 47 percent).
Four years earlier, George Bush won the district by four points (51 percent - 47 percent).
Once we have a sense of the recruiting prospects for both parties and the resources the national committees plan to dedicate to the race, we’ll see if a competitive special will take shape.
It is also unclear if this congressional district will outlast the next redistricting process when New York’s congressional delegation is expected to shrink in size.
At the very least, President Obama has once again picked off a Republican to join his team and created an opportunity for the Democrats.
-- Yunji de Nies and David Chalian
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