By: Mike Allen and Jim Vandehei

In his first major move as president-elect, Barack Obama has asked Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), a tough-minded tactician with West Wing experience, to serve as his White House chief of staff, Democratic sources tell Politico.

Emanuel has said to friends that he wants and will take the job, but aides said it was not a done deal as of late Wednesday — despite cable news reports that Emanuel had accepted.

Emanuel is “in the process of trying to decide” if he will take the chief of staff post, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) told MSNBC.

Obama plans to move swiftly with his transition announcement and could name Emanuel this week, the sources said. He then plans rapid-fire announcements on his economic and national security teams.

If Emanuel — a member of the House Democratic leadership with ambitions to one day be speaker — were to turn it down, former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) would likely get the nod, the sources said.

Some Democrats have warned that Emanuel’s take-no-prisoners style could hurt Obama. But the president-elect wants to move fast to push his legislative agenda through the Democratic-controlled Congress — and Emanuel knows the Hill and power politics as well as anyone in town.

“Obama wants a bad cop so he can be good cop 90 percent of the time,” an adviser said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) demurred Wednesday when asked if Emanuel was leaving Congress. “I have not been informed of that decision,” she told reporters at a press conference.

Emanuel, who at 49 is two years older than Obama, is the Democratic Caucus chairman, the fourth-highest-ranking member of the House Democratic leadership.

Emanuel was known for his hard-nosed tactics as a senior adviser to President Bill Clinton. After leaving the White House, he returned to Chicago as an investment bank managing director.

Friends of both men say that Obama likes Emanuel and that Emanuel would be completely loyal. And Obama respects Emanuel’s knowledge of Washington, including the legislative process, and his reputation for getting things done.

Emanuel’s first big assignment in Clinton’s White House was helping pass the North American Free Trade Agreement, which riled many Democrats. He was a consistent voice for anti-crime measures, welfare reform and other initiatives that pushed against liberal orthodoxy.

In his personal views, he’s a centrist, and despite a combative political style, he has good relations with many congressional Republicans, such as Rep. Adam Putnam (R-Fla.).

The buzz about Emanuel came as Obama moved briskly to put his transition effort formally in motion.

He announced a formal transition team, headed by a triumvirate of his close advisers: John Podesta, who served as Clinton’s chief of staff; Pete Rouse, Obama’s chief of staff in his Senate office; and Valerie Jarrett, a family friend and counselor to Obama.

The Transition Project also will include a team of elected officials and veteran political professionals to help steer the turnover of power. In addition to Podesta, the list includes several other former Clinton administration officials, including former Energy Secretary Federico Pena, former EPA Administrator Carol Browner, former Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Susan Rice and former Commerce Secretary William Daley.

The Obama team also came into some new real estate as a result of its historic victory. The General Services Administration announced that it has set aside 120,000 square feet of fully furnished office space in downtown Washington for the Obama-Biden transition team.

Under a 1963 law, the GSA is also authorized to provide some federal funding to help cover the costs of the next administration’s transition. The GSA also is publishing a transition directory that provides information about each federal agency and will arrange orientation briefings for new appointees.

Obama aides have indicated that they will maintain an office in Chicago but that they will likely use Washington as their base of operations.

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