Sources: Sen. Judd Gregg accepts commerce secretary post

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire has accepted President Barack Obama's offer to be commerce secretary, two administration officials said Monday.

The announcement is scheduled for Tuesday, the officials said. And in a move that will leave the balance of the Senate unchanged, New Hampshire's Democratic governor will name a Republican to replace Gregg, state political sources said.

Gregg, a third-term Republican known for being fiscally conservative, said in a written statement Friday that he was among those being considered for the post, but White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said no final decision has been made.

Gregg's term is up in 2010. If he left the Senate, New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch could have named a Democrat to replace him, giving the Democrats the 60-seat majority needed to overcome Republican attempts to use filibusters to block legislation.

But state political sources from both parties said Monday that Lynch will name Gregg's former chief of staff, Bonnie Newman, to replace him.

Newman, most recently the interim president of the University of New Hampshire, also worked in the White House during the first Bush administration and was an assistant commerce secretary during the Reagan administration.

Democrats hold 58 seats in the Senate, with one seat -- in Minnesota -- still subject to legal challenge. In a statement issued earlier Monday, Lynch said Gregg had told him he would not give up his seat "if it changed the balance in the Senate."

"It is important that President Obama be able to select the advisors he feels are necessary to help him address the challenges facing our nation," Lynch said. "If President Obama does nominate Sen. Gregg to serve as commerce secretary, I will name a replacement who will put the people of New Hampshire first and represent New Hampshire effectively in the U.S. Senate."

On Sunday Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Gregg had given him a similar guarantee.

Obama first nominated New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson to be commerce secretary. But Richardson withdrew in early January, citing the distraction of a federal investigation into ties to a company that has done business with his state.

All About U.S. Department of Commerce • National Economy • Barack Obama