Gov. Greg Abbott will name Texas A&M University Chancellor John Sharp as the state’s Harvey recovery czar Thursday, overseeing the rebuilding of coastal communities after the devastating storm, according to Abbott’s office.

The news was originally reported by The Wall Street Journal Wednesday night.

Sharp, a Democrat, will chair the newly-created Governor’s Commission to Rebuild Texas.

On Tuesday, Abbott said he would have a "big announcement" related to Harvey at the Capitol Thursday, and this is it.

Sharp will continue to serve as chancellor, according to a well-placed source who wasn’t authorized to speak on the record. Sharp’s contract as chancellor, which had three years remaining, was extended in August by an additional three years to 2023 by the A&M System Board of Regents.

Sharp ran twice for lieutenant governor. In 1998, he lost to his former A&M roommate Rick Perry by barely 2 points. Four years later, he lost by just under 6 points to David Dewhurst.

Sharp grew up in the South Texas farming community of Placedo, about fifteen miles from Victoria. About 75 percent of the homes in Placedo were destroyed by Harvey.

Abbott has estimated that the federal share of recovery and rebuilding costs from Harvey could be as high as $180 billion.