U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback might be in line to be the next president of the World Bank, a U.N. agency that finances antipoverty projects in poor nations.

“I would say that (Brownback) is somebody who’s in the fray,” said David Steven, a British journalist who reported the speculation Friday on an international Web site, worldbankpresident.org. “But we don’t really know yet.”

Brownback’s office was keeping mum about the topic Friday.

“He’s not going to have any comment on it,” Aaron Groote, a Brownback spokesman, told the Journal-World.

And Rob Nichols, a spokesman for the U.S. Treasury Department, which is leading the search effort, declined to confirm the speculation about the Kansas Republican.

“Obviously, the (Bush) administration holds the senator in high regard,” Nichols said, “but we don’t confirm or deny who might be under consideration.”

Taking the post would require Brownback to give up his Senate seat.

If he were to leave the Senate midterm, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius would appoint someone to serve until a special election could be held in November 2006.

U.S. Rep. Jerry Moran, R-1st District, who was in Lawrence Friday night for the annual meeting of the Chamber of Commerce, said he was unaware of any such interest in Brownback at the World Bank, but that if a Senate seat were to come open he’d be interested.

“We have two very good senators who I expect will serve for a long time. If there was a vacancy, it’s clearly something I’d take a look at,” Moran said.

According to its Web site, the World Bank lends up to $20 billion a year to finance economic development projects in countries around the world. Observers say that, by tradition, Americans have say over who leads the bank.

U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., left, and U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore, D-Kan., were at Haskell Indian Nations University earlier this month to announce .7 million in funding for a new science building at Haskell. Brownback has been rumored as a candidate to lead the World Bank.

Current president James D. Wolfensohn announced earlier this month that he would leave the position at the end of his term later this year.

Treasury Secretary John Snow “is in the early stages of the process of talking to candidates (for the job) and consulting with other stakeholders,” Nichols said.

Brownback, who was overwhelmingly re-elected to office in November, has shown an interest in international relations.

He recently left the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, but earlier this month he was appointed chairman of the Helsinki Commission, a federal board that monitors human rights and democracy in Europe.

Brownback has also been vocal on other international issues, including violence in Sudan and human rights in North Korea. And he has been mentioned as a possible contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008.

Brownback on GOP presidential radar (01-16-05) Brownback touted as ‘clear leader’ of Kansas GOP (11-06-04) Senate.gov: Senator Sam Brownback WorldBankPresident.org

Steven’s Web site, worldbankpresident.org, lists 20 possible candidates to replace Wolfensohn, including former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Colin Powell. The site has been featured in Washington Post and Reuters news service articles covering the job search.

Steven said Brownback’s name emerged during a recent international conference. He said Brownback appeared to have a shot at the job because he shares President Bush’s neoconservative beliefs in spreading democracy.

But Steven said Brownback would be a “controversial” choice who otherwise has little relevant experience for the job.

Nonetheless, Steven told the Journal-World, “when you hear names coming up that are part of the current Republican establishment, I think you have to take them seriously.”

Nichols said Snow wanted a replacement named by the time Wolfensohn’s term ends May 31.

— Staff writer Mark Fagan contributed to this report.