President-elect Joe Biden has seemingly ended any speculation about whether Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms will serve as the next secretary of the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department — a position for which she was widely considered to be a top contender.

Several national media outlets are reporting that Biden will nominate U.S. Rep. Marcia L. Fudge, a Democrat from Ohio, for HUD Secretary.

Biden’s transition team has yet to make an official announcement.

“If nominated, Congresswoman Fudge would serve our country well as Secretary of HUD,” Bottoms said in a statement. “She is an advocate for working families, a champion for affordable housing and will fight for equity and opportunity for every American.”

A Bottoms’ spokesman declined to answer a question regarding whether the mayor had discussions with Biden’s transition team about taking any position in his administration.

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Savannah's Talmadge Bridge sits just downriver from the Georgia Ports Authority cargo ship terminals. The span was recently listed in a NTSB report among those that are at risk for vessel strike following the March 2024 collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge. (Miguel Martinez / AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez