Obama to name Ron Klain as Ebola czar

President Barack Obama will appoint Ron Klain his "Ebola czar," knowledgeable sources tell CNN.

The president on Thursday signaled his openness to the idea to have one individual coordinating the entire federal response to any threat of an outbreak in the United States.

"It may make sense for us to have one person ... so that after this initial surge of activity, we can have a more regular process just to make sure that we're crossing all the T's and dotting all the I's going forward," Obama said.

A former chief of staff to Vice President Joe Biden and also to then-Vice President Al Gore, Klain is currently president of Case Holdings and general counsel of Revolution, an investment group. He has clerked for the U.S. Supreme Court and headed up Gore's effort during the 2000 Florida recount and was portrayed in the HBO movie "Recount" by Kevin Spacey. He could not be reached for comment on Friday.

Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida had called for an Ebola czar to coordinate the government's response to the deadly virus, but said Friday that "already, concerned have been raised about the president's choice."

"I hope Mr. Klain will come forward quickly with a set of concrete actions to reassure Americans that this administration is taking this situation seriously, including but not limited to common sense travel restrictions on individuals from the affected countries in West Africa," he said.