President Donald Trump said he expects William Barr will be quickly confirmed by the Senate to lead the Justice Department.

He called the former attorney general “a terrific person” and a “brilliant man.” Trump said he did not know Barr, saying he is “respected by Republicans, respected by Democrats.”

“Hopefully that process will go very quickly. And I think it will go very quickly,” he said as he left the White House for a law enforcement conference in Kansas City. “I’ve seen very good things about him even over the last day or so when people thought that it might be Bill Barr.”

Trump called him “my first choice since day one,” adding: “He’ll be nominated.”

Watch: President Trump Announces His Picks for AG and UN Ambassador

He also confirmed in brief remarks that chief State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert “will be nominated for the ambassador to the United Nations.”

With that, he was off to Kansas City. He did not take questions. Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III and other federal prosecutors are expected to file court documents later Friday that could be damaging to his presidency.