President Obama is likely to nominate Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), who announced in April that he will not be seeking re-election, as the U.S. Ambassador to China, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Though Senate aids confirmed the speculation on Wednesday, officials in the White House and Sen. Baucus declined to comment.
Baucus, 72, would replace Gary Locke, a former Washington governor and U.S. Commerce secretary. Before Locke, former Utah Governor John Huntsman filled the position before leaving to run for the GOP presidential nomination.
The potential nomination has already been seen as a move to strengthen the chances of Democrats holding the Senate in 2014 in addition to developing the Obama administration's focus on relations with Asia.
The six-term senator is currently chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and has been instrumental in passing the president's policies, specifically the new health law. He has visited China eight times and hosted the stay of Chinese officials in both Washington and Montana as well.
Douglas Paal, a China specialist, commended the possible nomination of Baucus as ambassador.
"He's tried to keep our trade relationship moving forward and productive," said Paal, who works with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
However, the National Republican Senatorial Committee called the nomination a "big sky buyoff" for Montana Governor Steve Bullock, who has the opportunity to appoint someone to fill Baucus' seat.
An NRSC letter to supporters read, "Bullock faces a choice: Does he follow in the spirit of Governors Christie, Manchin and Patrick who put politics aside and do what is best for Montanans by appointing a qualified individual to serve out the remainder of the term, or does he do what is best for the Democrat machine in Washington and appoint the blatantly political choice of John Walsh?"
