Pelosi names new deputy chief of staff

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Tuesday tapped her chief spokesman to be her new deputy chief of staff.

Drew Hammill, communications director and veteran spokesman for the Democratic leader, assumes the new role with a focus on the Democrats’ messaging strategy, Pelosi announced.

Hammill, who has been with Pelosi since 2006, will also continue his position atop the communications team.

“Drew Hammill has played an integral role in honing and executing House Democrats’ message for nearly a decade,” Pelosi said in a statement.

“Drew’s judgment, insight and commitment to disciplined and effective messaging have been a great asset in advancing the priorities of hard-working Americans in Congress,” she added. “In his new position as Deputy Chief of Staff, Drew will continue to play a leading role in our Caucus’s communications and message strategy as we go forward.”

The move comes in the wake of Pelosi’s hard-fought victory in rallying House Democrats behind President Obama’s nuclear accord with Iran. Pelosi, an early and enthusiastic champion of the agreement, spent much of the August recess shoring up that support to ensure the Democrats could sustain a presidential veto of the Republicans’ resolution to sink the deal — an effort Hammill helped to orchestrate.

It’s not the only shake-up in Pelosi’s office this month. Jerry Hartz, Pelosi’s director of floor operations, left Capitol Hill on Friday to take a position with the National Democratic Institute. Hartz had been a House staffer for 28 years, almost 14 of which were on Pelosi’s floor team.