The official isn't authorized to publicly discuss the matter and requested anonymity.
Reputed by Forbes to be worth nearly $3 billion, Ross would represent the interests of U.S. businesses domestically and abroad as the head at Commerce. His department would be among those tasked with carrying out the Trump administration's stated goal of protecting U.S. workers and challenging decades of globalization that largely benefited multinational corporations.
With a Florida home down the road from Trump's Mar-a-Lago retreat, the 78-year-old Ross played a role in crafting and selling the president-elect's tax-cut and infrastructure plans. Ross has suggested that much of America is disgruntled because the economy has left middle-class workers behind and says Trump represents a shift to a "less politically correct direction."
"Part of the reason why I'm supporting Trump is that I think we need a more radical, new approach to government -- at least in the U.S. -- from what we've had before," Ross told CNBC in June, referring to Trump's blunt tone and sweeping promises to reinvigorate economic growth.