President Joe Biden plans to nominate Caroline Kennedy, daughter of the late President John F. Kennedy, as U.S. ambassador to Australia, CNN reported on Friday, citing three unidentified people familiar with the process.
The White House declined to comment on the report.
Kennedy threw her support behind Biden's 2020 presidential bid in February of that year, writing that the former vice president was more prepared for the job than his rivals.
Kennedy previously served as U.S. ambassador to Japan under former Democratic President Barack Obama. The first female U.S. ambassador to Japan, Kennedy was an early and prominent supporter of Obama in his initial quest for the presidency in 2008, and also campaigned for him.
Media reports in May said that Biden will tap former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who served as White House chief of staff for Obama, as his ambassador to Japan.
Any decision to nominate Emanuel, known more for his sharp tongue than his foreign policy chops, would signal the importance the Biden administration places on the U.S. alliance with Japan as Washington lays the groundwork for a strategy to deal with challenges presented by China.