President Bush intends to nominate Johnson as assistant secretary of Health and Human Services with duties pertaining to the department's $600 billion budget, technology and finance, according to a White House announcement Friday.

Leavitt in January was sworn in to head the Cabinet-level agency. Before that he led the Environmental Protection Agency, a post he assumed in November 2003 during his fourth term as Utah's governor.

Johnson, Leavitt's Utah chief of staff and budget director under Gov. Norm Bangerter, also served as vice president of Huntsman LLC. He was in Salt Lake City Friday when the announcement of his possible new position was announced.

"It's just a great opportunity to work again with Mike Leavitt," Johnson said.

The new position will allow him to serve the public in a big way, a notion he relishes, especially the opportunity to be in on policy-making. "We have huge problems ahead," Johnson said. "The American public needs to be well served by someone in this position, representing both the president and the taxpayers."

The Department of Health and Human Services oversees health coverage for 40 million seniors and 50 million needy Americans. It houses the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates prescription drugs and food safety.

The agency also manages public health programs, including the response to terrorist attacks and disease outbreaks.

Some of the more contentious issues Leavitt and Johnson must handle include the debate over drug importation, the new $534 billion drug benefit for seniors and the FDA's approval of popular drugs that later were recalled due to health risks.

Johnson will continue in his EPA position while the new nomination is pending. He said he couldn't predict when his Senate confirmation hearings might occur, but hoped the process wouldn't take as long as with his EPA appointment. His January 2004 nomination to the EPA was confirmed in November.