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omeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge submitted his resignation in writing to President Bush on Tuesday morning, news services reported.

A ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøland Security Department official told the Associated Press that Ridge was expected to stay on his job for a few months, until a successor is found. Some officials expect the U.S. may face increased terror risks around the holidays and the Jan. 20 inauguration, AP said.

Among those mentioned as possible candidates for Ridge's replacement are Bernard Kerik, interim Minister of the Interior for Iraq and former New York City police commissioner, Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Joe Allbaugh and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Mike Leavitt.

In October 2001, Ridge became the nation's first White House homeland security adviser, leading a massive undertaking to rethink all aspects of security within the U.S. borders in the wake of the terror attacks of September 2001.

Congress subsequently passed legislation establishing the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøland Security Department, merging 180,000 employees from 22 government agencies. Ridge became the department's first secretary in January 2003.