President George W. Bush today nominated US Appeals Court Judge Michael Chertoff to become secretary of homeland security.
Mr Chertoff was an architect of the Justice Department's anti-terror policies after the September 11, 2001, attacks.
His nomination comes a month after former New York police commissioner Mr Bernard Kerik abruptly withdrew his name for the post due to what he said were questions over the immigration status of a housekeeper and nanny he employed.
Mr Chertoff (51) is a former assistant attorney general at the Justice Department and in the mid-1990s was a special counsel for the US Senate's committee that investigated the Whitewater affair involving former President Bill Clinton, according to a Justice Department resumé.
Cabinet nominations must be approved by the Senate.
