Washington, Jul 2 (PTI) The White House's Indian-origin spokesman Raj Shah is taking a leave of absence from his position to work full time on overseeing the communications effort associated with the upcoming Supreme Court pick, a media report said today.

Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement last week.

Shah, who serves as principal deputy press secretary, "will oversee communications, strategy and messaging coordination with Capitol Hill allies," Washington Post quoted White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders as saying.

The move is part of a broader push by the White House to rapidly confirm a replacement for Kennedy before the court's new term begins in October. Trump has said he plans to announce a nominee July 9,

The White House also announced that the overall confirmation process would be led by White House counsel Donald McGahn, as it was during the process that led to the successful confirmation last year of Justice Neil M Gorsuch.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)