Brown hires new chief of staff

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

Senator-elect Scott Brown, who expects to be sworn in this afternoon, has hired his new chief of staff.

Brown announced this morning that Steven Schrage will oversee the new offices in Washington and Massachusetts, acting as Brown’s top staffer as he fills the remaining two-and-a-half years of the late Edward M. Kennedy’s term.

Schrage most recently was the Scholl Chair in International Business at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. Some of his recent work focused on creating jobs in the economic downturn.

He also has a background in military issues, which could be an indication that Brown will attempt to make a mark in that area. Brown was known during his tenure in the Massachusetts State House for several pieces of legislation involving military veterans.

“Steven Schrage is a professional who knows his way around Washington,” Brown said in a statement. “He brings to the table expertise and background in a number of valuable areas – public policy, economic strategy, national security, business, counterterrorism, strategic planning and management.”

Schrage was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and acting Assistant Secretary under Colin Powell, and was the chief foreign policy and defense counsel for the late Senator Paul Coverdell, Republican from Georgia. Schrage also worked as foreign policy director for former governor Mitt Romney's presidential campaign.

Schrage grew up in a military family and did MBA and doctoral studies at Harvard Business School. He is an honors graduate of Duke University and of the University of Michigan Law School.