WASHINGTON, Oct 3: US President George W. Bush has picked White House legal counsel Harriet Miers to be a new US Supreme Court justice, an administration official told AFP early on Monday.

Mr Miers, who was previously Bush’s deputy chief of staff, has been picked to replace Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who announced her retirement in early July.

A formal announcement was expected late in the day.

Mr Miers will have to be confirmed by the US Senate.

Bush has been consulting with his aides and lawmakers on the issue over the past weeks, and White House spokesman Scott McClellan said on Thursday the president “has been considering a diverse group of potential nominees.”

Earlier plans called for replacing O’Connor with federal judge John Roberts. But he was re-nominated to be US chief justice after the death of William Rehnquist in early September.

Roberts, who was sworn in as US chief justice last week, has his first day on the US high court on Monday.—AFP