Gov. Chris Christie Shakes Up Senior Staff

TRENTON, NJ (AP) - Halfway into his term, Gov. Chris Christie is shuffling his top staff.

Administration officials tell The Associated Press that chief of staff Richard Bagger is leaving to take a job in the private sector on Jan. 31. Deputy Chief of Staff Kevin O'Dowd will move to take Bagger's place.

Homeland Security director Charles McKenna will move over to become Christie's chief counsel. He'll replace Jeff Chiesa, whom Christie is nominating for Attorney General.

O'Dowd and McKenna used to work for Christie at the U.S. Attorney's Office. O'Dowd was chief of the securities and health care fraud unit. McKenna led the criminal division, working on high profile cases that included the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the case of slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

Got a comment? Share it below!

(Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)