Jen Stewart, minority staff director at the House Armed Services Committee, has been appointed as Defense Secretary Mark Esper's next chief of staff, Politico reported Monday.
She will succeed Eric Chewning, who will leave his post by the end of January to pursue a career opportunity in the private sector. Stewart has led HASC's Republican staff under Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas.
Chewning joined the Department of Defense in 2017 as deputy assistant secretary for industrial policy and previously worked as a partner at management consulting firm McKinsey & Co. and an investment banker with Morgan Stanley & Co.
He served as tactical intelligence officer of the U.S. Army's 1st Battalion 5th Cavalry Regiment and strategic intelligence officer of the Army Intelligence and Security Command's National Ground Intelligence Center.
