Updated: 2:07 p.m.

Now that President Barack Obama has officially named senior adviser Peter Rouse as his interim chief of staff, the question remains: Who will get the job full time?

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Friday that Obama isn’t likely to name a permanent chief of staff “for several months.” The president’s current chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, is leaving to run for Chicago mayor.

But he noted that Rouse will move into Emanuel’s office and is “absolutely” on the short list for the job full time, which could mean Rouse will keep the post.

“Regardless of whether the timeline is for several weeks or several years, Pete’s the chief of staff,” Gibbs said during a briefing. Whether or not Rouse wants the job permanently is “something that he and the president are going to have to work through.”

Other names that have been floated for the post include former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.C.), Deputy National Security Adviser Tom Donilon and Ron Klain, Vice President Joseph Biden’s chief of staff.