WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama on Monday will name Charlotte, N.C., Mayor Anthony Foxx to be the next secretary of the Department of Transportation, an agency that has been under intense pressure in recent days over flight delays caused by budget cuts.
Mr. Foxx has been mayor since 2009 and, as an African-American, would help Mr. Obama fend off criticism from his own party about a lack of diversity in his cabinet picks. The post requires Senate confirmation.
A White House official said Mr. Obama would make the announcement Monday and praised Mr. Foxx's efforts to improve Charlotte's transit infrastructure as a way to expand the economy.
Unlike several of Mr. Obama's Cabinet picks for his second term—such as Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Secretary of StateJohn Kerry—Mr. Foxx hasn't been a close friend or leading political ally of the president. But the two got better acquainted when Charlotte played host to the Democratic National Convention last year.
Mr. Foxx will be among several people Mr. Obama is naming to top posts this week, rounding out a second-term cabinet. Mr. Obama has settled on Mike Froman, currently a White House deputy national security adviser, as his nominee for U.S. trade representative, an administration official said Friday. The president will also name Chicago billionaire and Democratic donor Penny Pritzker as commerce secretary, the official said, ending months of speculation about her likely nomination.
Mr. Froman has been a trusted adviser to the president on international economics and security issues. Ms. Pritzker was a major fundraiser for both of Mr. Obama's presidential races.
Mr. Foxx, if confirmed, will replace the current secretary of the Department of Transportation, Ray LaHood. Mr. LaHood has been under pressure over the furloughing of federal air-traffic controllers as a result of the sequester.
Lawmakers complained about flight delays and last week passed a bill that included funding to allow the Federal Aviation Administration to stop the furloughs of air-traffic controllers and prevent the scheduled closure of 149 control towers staffed by contracted employees at small airports. The FAA is part of the Department of Transportation.
In choosing Mr. Foxx, the president bypassed the head of the National Transportation Safety Board, Deborah Hersman, who was considered a candidate for the post. Ms. Hersman was known for fighting against sleepy pilots and drunken drivers and won bipartisan praise from lawmakers for increasing the profile of the independent safety board.
There are currently two African-Americans among those with cabinet rank in the Obama administration, Attorney General Eric Holder and U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice. At the White House Correspondents' Association dinner Saturday night, comedian Conan O'Brien took a jab at the diversity of the president's choices, saying Mr. Obama's hair was "so white, it could be a member of your cabinet."
—Peter Nicholas and Josh Mitchell contributed to this report. Write to Jared A. Favole at jared.favole@dowjones.com
