President-elect Barack Obama is expected to pick Governor Janet Napolitano of Arizona as his administration’s secretary of homeland security, the future President’s aides said. No decision has been made yet on who will lead the giant agency created by Congress after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but Napolitano is the top pick.

Napolitano, an early backer of Obama's presidential campaign, even received a phone call from Sen. John McCain who congratulated her for the expected nomination.

"I hope she is quickly confirmed," McCain allegedly told Napolitano, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Gov. Napolitano has an impressive career so far. The 50-year-old was involved in the investigation into the nation’s biggest terrorist attack before Sept. 11, 2001 - the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

She also has wide experience in immigration and border-security issues. Two Democrat sources familiar with the issue said that Obama’s choice would surely be Napolitano. Napolitano first gained wide attention for representing Anita Hill as her lawyer in the case of sexual harassment accusations against Clarence Thomas during his 1991 Supreme Court confirmation hearings.

Until now, Obama picked Washington lawyer Eric Holder as attorney general and former Senate majority leader Tom Daschle as secretary of the Health and Human Services Department, while Senator Hillary Clinton will most likely become Obama’s secretary of state. She hasn’t decided whether she would accept the nomination or not.

Another likely member of Obama’s cabinet is Richard Danzig as Defense Secretary. Businesswoman Penny Pritzker, who led Obama’s campaign finances, was the lead candidate for secretary of commerce, but she said she is not interested.

“I think I can best serve our nation in my current capacity: building businesses, creating jobs, and working to strengthen our economy," she said.

Meanwhile, Obama’s chief of staff, Rep. Rahm Emanuel, held discussions with Senate Republican leaders on the Capitol Hill and made individual visits to House GOP leaders.