Officials: US eyes new ambassador to Egypt

WASHINGTON — Obama administration officials say the White House is considering a recommendation to nominate the current US ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, to be America's next top diplomat in Egypt.

The officials said yesterday that Secretary of State John Kerry has put Ford's name forward to take the Cairo post, which will soon be vacated by Anne Patterson. She has been tapped to become assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss personnel matters, said a decision on Ford's potential nomination could come in the next two weeks.

Ford has been ambassador to Syria since January 2011, but has not lived in Damascus since February 2012, when the State Department suspended embassy operations there.