WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama on Monday will nominate Charlotte, N.C., Mayor Anthony Foxx to be the next secretary of the Department of Transportation, an agency that has been under intense pressure in recent days over flight delays caused by budget cuts.

Mr. Foxx, a Democrat, has been mayor since 2009 and, as an African-American, would help Mr. Obama fend off criticism from his party about a lack of diversity in his cabinet picks. The post requires Senate confirmation.

A White House official said Mr. Obama would make the announcement Monday and praised Mr. Foxx's efforts to improve Charlotte's transit infrastructure as a way to expand the economy.

Unlike several of Mr. Obama's cabinet picks for his second term—such as Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Secretary of State John Kerry—Mr. Foxx hasn't been a close friend or leading political ally of the president's. But the two got better acquainted when Charlotte played host to the Democratic National Convention last year.

Mr. Foxx will be among several people Mr. Obama is naming to top second-term posts this week. Mr. Obama has settled on Mike Froman, currently a White House deputy national security adviser, as nominee for U.S. trade representative, an administration official said Friday. The president will name Chicago billionaire and Democratic donor Penny Pritzker as commerce secretary, the official said, ending months of speculation about her likely nomination.