Alabama Sen.-elect Doug Jones recently handed the top spot in his congressional office to an African-American man.
Dana Gresham is now his chief of staff — making the incoming Alabama senator the only member of the Democratic caucus to have a Black chief of staff.
Jones took his oath of office on Wednesday January 4, after defeating Republican Roy Moore in a special election last month that was held to fill out the final three years of Jeff Sessions’ term. He won 96 percent of the Black vote, according to exit polls.
Gresham has served as assistant secretary for Government Affairs at the U.S. Department of Transportation under President Barack Obama.
He is a native of Birmingham, and has also worked on Capitol Hill, serving as chief of staff for Rep. Artur Davis, who later became a Republican and as legislative director for Rep. Bud Cramer.
Jones has made hiring a diverse staff a priority since he staged an upset win over Republican Roy Moore in last month’s special Senate election in Alabama.
