Nominee picked to replace Napolitano at DHS

The White House is set to nominate a former Pentagon lawyer to replace Janet Napolitano as secretary of Homeland Security, according to multiple reports.

President Barack Obama will nominate Jeh Johnson on Friday to take the DHS helm, according to Oct. 17 reports in the Daily Beast and other media outlets. Johnson served as general counsel at the Defense Department during Obama's first term.

If nominated and confirmed, Johnson would be the fourth DHS secretary in the Department's 10-year history. Napolitano stepped down in September to become president of the University of California System.

According to the Defense Department, Johnson was appointed general counsel on Feb. 10, 2009. In that capacity, he served as the chief legal DOD and the legal adviser to the secretary of Defense. He stepped down to return to private practice in December 2012.

Johnson began his career in public service as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he focused on public corruption cases.