Later, the White House clarified that Wolf will take over after McAleenan departs after Nov. 11. "As the president has said, Kevin McAleenan has done a tremendous job," White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said. "He'll be leaving after Veterans Day and after he departs, Chad Wolf will serve as acting secretary in the interim."

Trump did not say anything about Veterans Day.

The announcement came after POLITICO reported Thursday that Trump called Wolf a few days ago and told him to expect to be appointed. Two other officials said that the White House has been speaking to reluctant GOP senators — including Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) — and asking them not to oppose Wolf’s appointment to be undersecretary of the department. (Wolf must be confirmed for his current job before he can take the acting job atop DHS.)

White House officials have told senators they are considering nominating Customs and Border Protection chief Mark Morgan to hold the position permanently but that a final decision has not been reached. The White House had considered nominating acting Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Ken Cuccinelli for the job, but learned that 20 senators opposed him, dooming his nomination, according to a person involved in the discussions.

Wolf will be the fifth person to lead Trump’s immigration agenda at DHS; his predecessors lost the president’s trust after resisting hardline views to varying degrees.

Wolf has received some opposition from lawmakers because he was a registered lobbyist for the National Association of Software and Service Companies, which represents Indian and U.S. companies that aim to keep the H-1B visa program for foreign workers with exceptional or unusual skills. He also served as chief of staff to former DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

Several people within the administration and in ideologically aligned groups expressed concern that Wolf would not be tough enough on immigration to satisfy Trump. Privately, they worry that Wolf will end up clashing with Trump in the same way his predecessors did, creating more dysfunction within the beleaguered agency.

The search has been complicated by a federal law that requires acting agency chiefs to have served under a Senate-confirmed secretary for 90 days. Grassley said this week there is no legal way to name someone acting DHS secretary if that person hasn't been confirmed in any capacity by the Senate. Wolf has not been confirmed in his present position as undersecretary for policy.

Gidley declined to say who the president will nominate to lead the department on a permanent basis.