Washington — Cass R. Sunstein, one of the nation’s most influential legal scholars and political theorists, is expected to be named by President-elect Barack Obama to a senior-level job at the White House to oversee government regulation, according to The Washington Post.

Mr. Sunstein taught at the University of Chicago Law School along with Mr. Obama, where they were friends. About a year ago, Mr. Sunstein moved to a job at Harvard Law School.

Mr. Sunstein has been a contributor to The Chronicle Review, writing in recent years about the political polarization fostered by the Internet and the importance to democracy of citizens’ being exposed to multiple viewpoints.

He is expected to become the administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, which is part of the White House Office of Management and Budget. He will oversee reform of regulations, seeking to find smarter approaches and better results in health, environment, and other domestic areas, according to an Obama transition source quoted by the Post.

Mr. Sunstein is married to Samantha Power, another scholar who has advised Mr. Obama. Ms. Power, a professor of public policy at Harvard, became embroiled in controversy during the presidential campaign when she told a Scottish-newspaper reporter, in an off-the-record moment, that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was a “monster,” a remark for which she quickly apologized. —Sara Hebel