President Bush will wait until at least Sept. 10, after he has returned from a week-long trip to Australia, before he announces a nominee to replace Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, a senior White House official told The Washington Times.

"It's unlikely that there will be a chance for process to recommend to [Mr. Bush] some options before he leaves for Australia, and for him to talk to those points and come to a conclusion," said Ed Gillespie, counselor to the president and one of his closest advisers.

Mr. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush leave for Australia on Monday and return Sunday, Sept. 9.

"So probably when he gets back from Australia he'll be able to announce something," Mr. Gillespie said in an interview yesterday. For more from that interview, see The Washington Times tomorrow morning.

Mr. Gillespie said that the White House has been in close consultation with more than 25 members of Congress on "both sides of the aisle."

"We've picked up a lot of interesting input from the Hill in the course of the past couple days, talking to people, and that's been factored in," Mr. Gillespie said.

Mr. Gillespie, a former Republican National Committee Chairman who was instrumental in both of Mr. Bush's presidential campaigns, also worked for many years on Capitol Hill.

His hiring was thought to be a signal that the White House would step up its communication and cooperation with members of Congress.

Mr. Gillespie declined to name any potential attorney generals, but said that Mr. Bush is "looking for someone who shares his point of view and his view of important policies."

"It's a very important position. We are in a war on terror and the attorney general and the Department of Justice plays a very important role in that," Mr. Gillespie said.

-- Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times