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CHICAGO (AP) President Barack Obama is preparing to boost the profile of an up-and-coming young Hispanic Democrat by nominating San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro to become the nation's housing secretary. Obama's current housing chief gets a new title: budget director.

Obama was expected to announce his latest Cabinet shuffle at the White House on Friday afternoon, a White House official said, shortly after he returns from an overnight trip to his Chicago hometown to raise money for Senate Democratic candidates.

He was to be joined by Castro and Donovan, two men both close to the president and whose profiles would receive a significant boost from moving into the higher-profile positions. The White House official who disclosed the nominations would speak only on condition of anonymity before a pending personnel announcement by Obama.

Obama chose Castro to deliver the keynote address at the 2012 Democratic National Convention and his star has been rising ever since. The two men's life stories are similar: Both are minorities raised by single mothers, they hold Harvard law degrees and saw their political careers skyrocket after giving lauded Democratic convention keynote speeches.

Castro, 39, is often among those being talked about as possible Democratic vice presidential candidates in 2016. If confirmed by the Senate, the three-term mayor would become one of the highest-ranking Hispanic officials serving at the pleasure of the president.

Donovan, 48, is highly regarded inside the White House as a strong manager. He is a lifelong affordable housing advocate whose work overseeing the federal government's response to the destruction Hurricane Sandy unleashed on the East Coast in October 2012 has earned glowing praise from White House officials, including Obama.

As director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, currently a Cabinet-level post, Donovan would have influence over administration policy and spending. He would be expected to win Senate confirmation a second time for the new post.

Donovan would replace Sylvia Mathews Burwell. Obama recently nominated Burwell to become secretary of health and human services following the resignation of Kathleen Sebelius after the disastrous rollout of the federal website for consumers to buy insurance coverage under Obama's health care law.

Obama had sought to bring Castro into the administration in the past, but he decided to stay in the job he says he looked forward to while growing up. Castro handily won a third term as mayor last year.

But his ambitions apparently have grown along with his stock as a politician with broad appeal to Democratic voters, including fellow Hispanics who voted overwhelmingly for Obama in 2012. Castro is Mexican-American.

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Obama To Tap Julian Castro For Housing Secretary

President Barack Obama used a pair of hometown fundraisers Thursday to defend Democratic control of the Senate against potential gains in the fall mid-term elections by what he called ideologically rigid Republicans.

Donors paid as much as $35,000 for a ticket to the campaign events for Illinois senior senator, Dick Durbin, and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Obama warned that if Democrats fail to hold the Senate and make gains in the Republican-led House, it could stall immigration reform as well as efforts to raise the minimum wage and combat global warming.

You have a president who is fighting for you in the White House, Obama said at the first event, thrown by Michael Polsky, the president and CEO of Invenergy at his Gold Coast home. What you do not have right now is a Congress that can function.

Noting that some voters look at a gridlocked Washington and say, a plague on both their houses, Obama said it was a false equivalence, that, Oh, Congress is broken as he again defended his signature health care program against repeated Republican attempts to try to repeal it.

The problem is not Dick Durbin. The problem is not Michael Bennet, Obama said, referring to the Colorado senator who heads the DSCC. The problem is not that Democrats are overly ideological.

Instead, Obama contended, The problem in Congress is very specific. We have a group of folks in the Republican Party, who have taken over, who are so ideologically rigid.

The Republican National Committee issued a statement chiding Obama for fundraising for Durbin and for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada during the investigation of secret wait lists for care at Veterans Affairs facilities. Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, faces Republican state Sen. Jim Oberweis of Sugar Grove in the Nov. 4 election.

At the first event, Obama joked about the return of warmer weather to Chicago since his last visit in early April, as well as how he has aged during the presidency.

Im looking around and I see a lot of friends, Obama said. All of you look the same, and I look like Morgan Freeman.

The president also attended a fundraiser at the Lincoln Park home of wealthy Democratic donor Fred Eychaner, the founder of Newsweb Corp. who helped bankroll last years successful push to legalize gay marriage in Illinois.

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Obama raises money for Durbin in Chicago

May 22, 2014: President Obama speaks at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.AP

The bronze plaque of hard-throwing slugger Babe Ruth glistening behind him, President Obama on Thursday pitched the United States as a destination spot for travelers, casting tourism as a job-creating industry than can offer a needed boost to a recovering economy.

Using the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum as his backdrop, Obama made a case for attracting more foreign visitors and helping a sector of the economy that has increasingly brought more money into the United States but still faces competition from abroad.

"When it comes to tourism, we have a great product to sell," he said. "Nothing says `Made in America' better than the Empire State Building or the Hoover Dam."

His visit to the 75-year-old museum, which attracts nearly 300,000 visitors a year, was the first by a sitting president. Obama, an avid ESPN watcher and sports fan, was clearly in his element. He noted, with amusement, that the exhibits included the jacket he wore to throw out the first pitch at the 2009 All-Star Game. Then, recalling the ridicule he received for wearing "mom jeans" that evening, he added sheepishly, "Michelle retired those jeans quite a while back."

Earlier Thursday, Obama signed a presidential memorandum giving his homeland security and commerce secretaries four months to come up with a plan to streamline the entry process and reduce wait times. He also asked the departments to work with the 15 largest U.S. airports, following steps taken by Dallas-Fort Worth and Chicago international airports to cut wait times.

Obama acted two years ago to speed the processing of tourist visas for visitors from China and Brazil. On Thursday, Obama tackled the flip side of the problem: long waits for processing at U.S. airports and other ports of entry once tourists arrive.

During his tour of the museum, Obama got to hold Babe Ruth's baseball bat, palm the ball thrown in 1910 by President William Howard Taft, the first president to make a ceremonial pitch, examine a ball recovered from the rubble of the Twin Towers and marvel at the shoes worn by Shoeless Joe Jackson. "He had small feet," Obama observed.

At a display on the integration of baseball that featured Jackie Robinson and his retired Dodgers' jersey, Obama said: "Got to have everybody on the field." Told Robinson was hit by a pitch seven times in his first two months in the major leagues, Obama replied: "Interesting to note."

"Baseball describes our history in so many ways," he said. "This hall has memories of two world wars that we fought and won. It has memories of color barriers being broken, Jackie Robinson's uniform, the record of his first season as a Dodger."

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Obama promotes tourism at Baseball Hall of Fame

The bronze plaque of hard-throwing slugger Babe Ruth glistening behind him, President Barack Obama on Thursday pitched the United States as a destination spot for travelers, casting tourism as a job-creating industry than can offer a needed boost to a recovering economy.

Using the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum as his backdrop, Obama made a case for attracting more foreign visitors and helping a sector of the economy that has increasingly brought more money into the United States but still faces competition from abroad.

"When it comes to tourism, we have a great product to sell," he said. "Nothing says 'Made in America' better than the Empire State Building or the Hoover Dam."

His visit to the 75-year-old museum, which attracts nearly 300,000 visitors a year, was the first by a sitting president. Obama, an avid ESPN watcher and sports fan, was clearly in his element. He noted, with amusement, that the exhibits included the jacket he wore to throw out the first pitch at the 2009 All-Star Game. Then, recalling the ridicule he received for wearing "mom jeans" that evening, he added sheepishly, "Michelle retired those jeans quite a while back."

Earlier Thursday, Obama signed a presidential memorandum giving his homeland security and commerce secretaries four months to come up with a plan to streamline the entry process and reduce wait times. He also asked the departments to work with the 15 largest U.S. airports, following steps taken by Dallas-Fort Worth and Chicago international airports to cut wait times.

Obama acted two years ago to speed the processing of tourist visas for visitors from China and Brazil. On Thursday, Obama tackled the flip side of the problem: long waits for processing at U.S. airports and other ports of entry once tourists arrive.

During his tour of the museum, Obama got to hold Babe Ruth's baseball bat, palm the ball thrown in 1910 by President William Howard Taft, the first president to make a ceremonial pitch, examine a ball recovered from the rubble of the Twin Towers and marvel at the shoes worn by Shoeless Joe Jackson. "He had small feet," Obama observed.

At a display on the integration of baseball that featured Jackie Robinson and his retired Dodgers' jersey, Obama said: "Got to have everybody on the field." Told Robinson was hit by a pitch seven times in his first two months in the major leagues, Obama replied: "Interesting to note."

"Baseball describes our history in so many ways," he said. "This hall has memories of two world wars that we fought and won. It has memories of color barriers being broken, Jackie Robinson's uniform, the record of his first season as a Dodger."

Before departing for upstate New York, Obama met with 20 travel and tourism industry CEOs and senior executives, including Arne Sorenson of Marriott International, Mark Hoplamazian of Hyatt Hotels and Roger Dow of the U.S. Travel Association.

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Obama Promotes Foreign Tourism in Upstate NY

President Obama declared almost a half-million acres of desert terrain along the U.S.-Mexico border as a national monument. Praised by environmentalists, some lawmakers in the West see Obama's move as a threat to border security.

New national monument sparks border concerns President Barack Obama on Wednesday declared almost a half-million acres of rugged desert terrain along the U.S.-Mexico border as a national monument, marking the largest swath of land to be set aside for that purpose since he took office.

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While praised by environmentalists, the move is generating criticism from some lawmakers in the West and local law enforcement agents who see Obama's use of power as a threat to security in a region where the influence of Mexican drug cartels, human smuggling and illegal immigration are all apparent.

House Speaker John Boehner and others also complained that the designation of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument in southern New Mexico is the latest example of Obama taking unilateral action to sidestep Congress.

"Once again, the president has chosen to bypass the legislative branch and, in this case, do so in a manner that adds yet another challenge in our ongoing efforts to secure our southern border," Boehner said. "At a time of continued cartel violence in Mexico, we should not be putting any additional restraints on efforts to protect our borders."

Officials with U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the designation will not limit their ability to perform the agency's mission along the border.

The campaign by environmentalists, hunters and tourism officials to gain wilderness protection for the Organ Mountains and Desert Peaks has dragged on for a decade, with numerous versions introduced by the state's delegation over the years.

New Mexico Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich, both Democrats, had most recently proposed legislation to protect the region, which includes hunting areas and features rock outcroppings, petroglyphs, ancient lava flows and sites such as Billy the Kid's Outlaw Rock and Geronimo's Cave.

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Obama's new national monument: Undermining border security?