Obama’s chief of staff may run for Chicago mayor

Rahm Emanuel is nearing a decision on whether to leave the White House and explore a run for mayor of Chicago, a source close to the White House chief of staff said late Monday.

An announcement could come as early as Friday, the source said, but Emanuel hasn’t yet settled on a final decision.

“Because of family considerations, no final decision has been made,” said the source, who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive subject.

In the weeks since Mayor Richard Daley announced that he would not seek reelection, Emanuel has been in discussions with political leaders and other prospective candidates for the office.

“Nothing is set in stone,” a friend of Emanuel said this weekend.

Monday, President Barack Obama acknowledged that Emanuel’s time in the West Wing may be coming to an end.

“I think that Rahm will have to make a decision quickly,” the president said in an interview with NBC’s Matt Lauer. “Running for mayor of Chicago is a serious enterprise, and I know this is something he is thinking about.”

Obama said Emanuel has not communicated any decision to him yet, but “as soon as he does, I’m sure that we’ll announce it.”

Asked if he would endorse Emanuel should he run, Obama said it was too soon to discuss that.

“I have said that I think he would be an excellent mayor, but until he makes a decision, I’m not going to be making decisions about how I’m going to approach it,” he said.