White House spokesman Tony Fratto says Washington wants to move swiftly to nominate a new president of the World Bank.
World Bank chief Paul Wolfowitz announced Thursday that he would resign at the end of June, ending a bruising political squabble growing out of charges he improperly arranged a promotion and pay raise for his girlfriend.
Fratto told journalists Friday that President Bush wants to pick a candidate with "real passion for lifting people out of poverty." The World Bank's mission is to use loans to help poor nations improve their economies and reduce poverty.
Many news reports speculate about possible successors to Wolfowitz. Among the names mentioned are former Deputy U.S. Secretary of State Robert Zoellick, current Deputy U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Kimmit, Bank of Israel official Stanley Fischer and outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The United States is the World Bank's largest shareholder, and has traditionally named the bank's president.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.