Sen.-elect Doug Jones (D-Ala.), who clearly owes his slim victory over accused pedophile Roy Moore to the African-American vote, has chosen Capitol Hill veteran Dana Gresham as his chief of staff—the only black chief of staff for a Senate Democrat. And yes, that includes black Democratic Sens. Cory Booker (N.J.) and Kamala Harris (Calif.). Two Republican senators—Tim Scott (S.C.) and Jerry Moran (Kansas)—have black chiefs of staff.
Following pressure from the NAACP and other groups after his hotly contested win, Jones chose Gresham, who served for eight years in the Department of Transportation under President Barack Obama.
“Hiring at least one person of color to your senior staff in Washington would speak loudly, and we ask that you do so among the qualified applicants that you will receive,” 17 groups wrote in a letter to Jones, according to the Washington Post. “The lack of diversity among top Senate staff is not caused by a complete absence of strong candidates of color.”
Gresham hails from Birmingham, Ala., is a Georgetown University graduate and spent more than a decade as a staffer at the House of Representatives. In 2009 he joined the DOT as an assistant secretary.
Jones also tapped former Senate staffer Sonceria Bishop-Berry, a black woman, to advise his transition team.
Read more at the Washington Post.