Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) on Thursday appointed Hill veteran Jonathan Davidson to serve as his new chief of staff.

Davidson, an adjunct professor of legislative process at American University’s School of Public Policy, serves as chief counsel to Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.).

He will succeed Bennet’s former chief of staff, Guy Cecil, now the executive director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

“Jonathan’s strong knowledge of Congress will help me move forward on our work to strengthen our economy and create long term job growth in Colorado and America,” Bennet said in a statement. “His experience and skills will be invaluable to our office as the Senate continues to tackle the major challenges facing our nation.”

Prior to his two-year stint with Warner, Davidson served as chief of staff to then-Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D-Md.) and Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.).

He initially came to the Hill in 1994 as a spokesman for Sen. Sarbanes, eventually climbing the ladder to legislative aide and chief of staff. But the graduate of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill took a few years off to attend Georgetown Law School and clerk for a year under William Sessions, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont.

He soon found that he “missed the Hill,” he said, and decided to return to Washington, D.C., where he worked under Sen. Sarbanes until the lawmaker’s retirement in 2007. Davidson then transitioned to the House to work for Rep. Sarbanes, Sen. Sarbanes’ son. After Warner was elected in November 2008, Davidson moved back to the Senate, where he has been serving ever since.

“I look forward to working with Senator Bennet,” Davidson said in a release. “Bennet is committed to ensuring that our schools prepare our kids for college and the 21st century job market, that our economy encourages innovation and that we get our budget deficit under control.”

Davidson expects to start his work with Bennet in the next few weeks.