Gov. Ned Lamont announced a new key player in his administration Tuesday.

Matt Brokman, a senior advisor to the governor since January 2023, will take on the role as Lamont’s chief of staff, effective immediately.

Brokman, previously chief of staff for House Majority Leader Jason Rojas and former Speaker of the House Joe Aresimowicz, has also worked in the Connecticut House Democrats Office.

“I think people in this building on both sides of the aisle know him,” Lamont said of Brokman. “They know they can take him at his word, and I think that’s going to be incredibly valuable for us as a state going forward for the next two years.”

With the next regular legislative session about six months away, crafting Connecticut’s next biennium budget is at the forefront. Lamont has said the next budget cycle could be “complicated,” with the state required to spend the last of American Rescue Plan Act funds by the end of 2026.

Brokman replaces Jonathan Dach, who stepped away as Lamont’s chief of staff after a year and a half in the role, citing a move to New York.

Speaking Tuesday, Lamont praised Dach’s work in the “round the clock” chief of staff job, and in various other positions in his administration over the last six years.

Dach said he will continue working with the governor in a senior advisory role on policy projects, such as energy supply, higher education and housing.

The next regular legislative session runs from early January to June 2025