Jonathan Davidson was announced as the Department of Homeland Security’s new Chief of Staff in a message to the workforce Thursday.
Davidson succeeds Kristie Canegallo, who assumed her new role as Acting Deputy Secretary today. Davidson will assume his duties in August.
Davidson joins DHS from the Department of the Treasury, where he served first as Counselor to Secretary Janet Yellen and, upon Senate confirmation, as Treasury’s Assistant Secretary for Congressional Affairs. In those roles, Davidson helped lead Treasury’s efforts to pass and implement the Inflation Reduction Act and has worked on a range of national security issues, including the administration’s efforts in response to Russia’s attack on Ukraine and its push to diversify global supply chains.
Davidson worked on Capitol Hill for more than two decades, serving as Chief of Staff to Senator Michael Bennet and, before then, as Chief of Staff to Senator Paul Sarbanes and Representative John Sarbanes and Chief Counsel to Senator Mark Warner.
Early in his career, Davidson clerked for Judge William Sessions, Chief Judge of the Federal District Court of Vermont. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Georgetown University Law Center.
Sharmistha “Sharmi” Das will transition from Acting Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy to Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy. Das has been serving in the acting capacity after serving as DHS Deputy General Counsel and as a detailee in the Office of the Vice President. She and Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations Kay Lord Fallon will work closely with Davidson in his new role.
“We are grateful to Jonathan and Sharmi for their continued public service and excited for Jonathan to join our DHS team,” Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said.
