U.S. President Joe Biden has decided to nominate former Treasury Secretary Jack Lew to be his country's next ambassador to Israel, a spokesperson for the White House said to The Times of Israel on Tuesday.

Lew served in the administration of former President Barack Obama as White House Chief of Staff, and at 68 years old, he is expected to be one of the most prominent political appointees for this sensitive position in Israel.

A senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, "Biden's decision to nominate anyone at all, and his administration's confirmation process in the Senate, which Republicans are likely to turn into a referendum on the president's policies toward Israel as the 2024 presidential campaign kicks off, shows the seriousness with which he deals with the U.S.-Israel relationship."

Lew's nomination comes at a particularly sensitive time in U.S.-Israel relations, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government aims to move forward with its largely controversial judicial reform, despite repeated calls from Washington that such far-reaching reforms should only be presented with consensus support, which the hardline coalition severely lacks.

If confirmed, Lew will also be tasked with curbing the Israeli government's efforts to expand the presence of settlers in the West Bank, along with its more broadly hardline policies toward Palestinians, which have coincided with the bloodiest year in the conflict since the Second Intifada.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration is working to mediate a normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia, weighing massive demands from Riyadh to bring the deal to fruition. American officials, such as former ambassador Tom Nides, have repeatedly warned Israel that controversial policies regarding Palestinians and judicial reform make securing the normalization agreement more difficult.