Symantec's Thompson Commerce Secretary?

According to Reuters, a number of senior Democratic sources confirmed the choice late Tuesday and early Wednesday, although neither the White House nor Symantec have confirmed Thompson as the lead contender.

"To the best of my knowledge no decisions have been made about a commerce secretary," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs in a press briefing on Tuesday. "I believe his name has been out there as among the candidates that the administration has thought about, but according to the latest thinking that I had, no decision on that had been made."

The appointment would make Thompson the government's business policy and industry issues chief. According to reports in the San Jose Mercury News and CBS News, Thompson is currently being vetted by the Obama team and an official announcement could be days away.

Symantec did not respond Wednesday to Channelweb.com requests for comment.

Thompson announced in November 2008 that he would be retiring from the CEO spot at Symantec this April after a decade at the security giant's helm. His successor is Symantec COO Enrique Salem, and Thompson will remain chairman of Symantec's board.

Thompson is a noted Obama champion who threw his support behind the president early in the campaign, and has also served in various public sector capacities over the years. Back in 2002, former President George W. Bush appointed Thompson to the National Infrastructure Advisory Committee, and Thompson has also chaired the Silicon Valley Blue Ribbon Task Force on Aviation Security and Technology.

Secretary of Commerce is one of the last major Cabinet positions yet to be filled by President Obama. Obama's original appointee, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, withdrew after being named the subject of a federal probe over improper business dealings in his home state.

In the past few months, Thompson's name has been bandied about among top choices for another Cabinet job, that of Obama's first-ever national CTO. Thompson told news sources at the time of his November announcement that he had "no interest in a Cabinet post" and "no interest in a political appointment, I just want to see change in the White House."

The top choices for Obama's CTO position are said to be Padmasree Warrior, CTO of Cisco Systems, and Vivek Kundra, CTO of Washington D.C.