Inhofe Announces Minority Staff Director

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), announced that John Wason will serve as minority staff director for the Committee, taking over for outgoing staff director John Bonsell.

Wason, a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel, previously served as deputy staff director for the committee. He joined the SASC in 2018 after serving as a professional staff member on the House Armed Services Committee for 13 years. He began his Capitol Hill career in Sen. Inhofe’s personal office as a military fellow. 

“I am pleased to announce John Wason as the new minority staff director for the Committee,” Inhofe said. “As a retired Army officer with significant legislative experience on the Armed Services Committees in both houses of Congress, John’s leadership and understanding of the issues will be an asset to the committee. He knows how the Committee should set our priorities to ensure the Pentagon has the resources, equipment and strategy needed to defend our nation.”

“There aren’t enough words to describe my gratitude to John Bonsell for his leadership as majority staff director over the last two and a half years,” Inhofe continued. “I credit him greatly for continuing the six-decade streak of enacting the National Defense Authorization Act into law, and making sure these bills included good policy to strengthen national security and support our military families. No one on Capitol Hill has fought harder for our troops or for our country than John Bonsell, and I’ll miss him greatly.”