Representative Sheila Jackson Lee got a major boost from the Congressional Black Caucus with an official endorsement to fill Janet Napolitano's seat as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

In a letter dated July 24, Ohio representative and caucus chair Marcia Fudge asks President Barack Obama to consider the Houston lawmaker for the federal appointment, noting her posts on House Committees for Foreign Affairs, Homeland Security and the Judiciary since she joined Congress in 1995.

Lee currently serves as the ranking member of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security, where the Black Caucus says she stands as a "strong and honest 'voice of reason.' "

The Mississippi Business Journal first broached the idea after receiving a statement from Mississippi U.S. representative Bennie Thompson explaining that, while his name was mentioned as a possible Homeland Security replacement, he would not seek the nomination. Instead he would endorse Lee.

The Houston congresswoman and her Washington office were unable to be reached for comment Monday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Napolitano will end her tenure at the Department of Homeland Security in late August to become the first woman to serve as president of the University of California system.

By fall, the House plans to vote on sweeping Senate-approved immigration reforms, during which border security is expected to play a crucial role in republican pushback. Any Homeland Security nomination is sure to cause quite the buzz among conservative pundits.