White House Communications Director Anita Dunn's husband is emerging as the top candidate to replace Greg Craig as White House counsel, Fox News has learned. 

Dunn's husband, Bob Bauer, is President Obama's personal lawyer and a former counsel to his campaign, as well as the top lawyer for the Democratic National Committee.

Senior White House officials declined to comment, but Democrats close to the situation said Bauer is under serious consideration to replace Craig, who is expected to leave the White House by the end of the year.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said no decisions have been made on Craig's future or on any potential replacement. 

Dunn, who has leveled sharp criticism at Fox News in recent weeks, is also expected to leave the White House by the end of the year. She took the communications post on an interim basis in late April, replacing Ellen Moran, who resigned to become chief of staff at the Commerce Department. 

Dunn, who also served as a top campaign adviser to Obama's presidential campaign, declined to comment on any role her husband might play in the administration. 

During the campaign, Bauer played a significant role in Obama's decision to forgo general election spending limits, allowing Obama to vastly out-fundraise and outspend Republican rival John McCain. 

Bauer is highly regarded in Democratic circles as a tenacious and brilliant lawyer with an expertise in election law and the convergence of law and politics. In addition to his current work for the DNC and his role as general counsel to Obama's presidential campaign, Bauer has also been counsel to the Democrats' national Senate and House campaign committees. 

He was also chief outside counsel to former Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle during the impeachment trial of President Clinton and counsel to New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley's presidential campaign in 2000. 

Bauer is currently chairman of the Political Law Group at the Washington law firm of Perkins Cole LLP. He  graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1973 and received his law degree in 1976 from the University of Virginia.