A leading Illinois businessman, Mr James C. Kenny, is expected to succeed Mr Richard Egan as US Ambassador to Ireland.
Senior US political sources said yesterday the White House presented Mr Kenny's name to the State Department in the last two or three weeks.
Mr Kenny is vice-president and owner of the Kenny Construction Company of Wheeling, Illinois. His nomination is expected to go before the Foreign Affairs Sub-committee of the US Senate shortly.
Mr Kenny was a major political donor and fundraiser for the Bush campaign in the last presidential election. He also helped raise $14 million as finance chairman for Mr Jim Ryan, the Republican candidate for Governor of Illinois last year.
A report in yesterday's Boston Globe also said Mr Kenny was "at the top of the White House list" to replace Mr Egan, who made a surprise announcement just before Christmas that he would be stepping down, after only 15 months in the job.
Mr Kenny is described as "a friend of the President" and served as a member of the transportation advisory committee that advised the incoming Bush administration. Last year, President Bush selected him as a member of the delegation representing the US at the inauguration of Mr Enrique Bolanos Geyer as President of Nicaragua.
Kenny Construction Co, which rose to prominence in 1992 for fixing the freight tunnel leak that caused the great Chicago flood, reportedly gave $26,800 to the Republican Party in 2000 and 2002 .
Personally, Mr Kenny donated to the Bush-Cheney Recount Fund in 2000, according to Illinois media reports. He was also a delegate to the Republican National Convention.
Both Mr Kenny and the company have also donated to Democrats; in 1993, Kenny Construction gave $5,000 to the Democratic National Committee, and Mr Kenny is reported to have close ties to Chicago's Democratic mayor, Mr Richard M. Daley.