US President Joe Biden announced former Treasury Secretary Jack Lew as his nominee for ambassador to Israel, the White House said in a statement.

Lew, if confirmed by the U.S. Senate, will face a complicated political situation, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushes through a judicial overhaul opposed by many Israelis and the Biden administration.

He would succeed Ambassador Tom Nides in the post.

In addition to Treasury secretary, Lew served under former President Barack Obama as White House chief of staff and deputy secretary of state for management and resources.

Lew was director of the Office of Management and Budget, a position in President Bill Clinton's Cabinet, from 1998 to 2001. In both the Democratic Clinton and Obama administrations, Lew served on the National Security Council.

Earlier, as special assistant to Clinton, he was an architect of the national service program, Americorps.