President Obama plans to nominate U.S. Senator John Kerry for Secretary of State, according to ABC News. 

If nominated by Obama and confirmed by the Senate, Kerry would replace outgoing Secretary of State Hilary Clinton.

Obama has reportedly made his decision but does not plan to announce it within the next few days, partly because of sensitivities surrounding the mass shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

Kerry became the front runner for the top diplomatic post in the wake of U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice withdrawing her name from consideration. 

Kerry had reportedly been under consideration for the Secretary of Defense post, but former U.S. Senator Charles Hagel, R-Neb., tops the list of potential nominees for that job, according to Bloomberg News.