Maryland Sen.-elect Chris Van Hollen (D) will be a member of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee next year, putting him in position to steer federal money in the state’s direction and maintain its influence in Washington.

Van Hollen, currently a congressman from Montgomery County, will also chair the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee for the 2018 midterm election cycle, an important period for the party after losing the White House and failing to break Republican control of Congress this year.

On appropriations, Van Hollen, 57, will replace retiring senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), who has served as the panel’s top-ranking Democrat since 2012, including more than two years as chair. Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) will be the ranking Democrat next year.

Mikulski, who was the first woman to head the committee, called Van Hollen’s appointment “good news” for Maryland and said her successor “brings tremendous experience and skill to the job.”

Incoming Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced Van Hollen’s appointment to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee on Friday. He is the first person tapped to lead the organization as a senator-elect.

Schumer noted that the Maryland lawmaker headed the party’s Congressional Campaign Committee from 2007 until 2011.

“Chris Van Hollen was our first choice for DSCC chairman because of his talents, his work ethic, and his experience,” Schumer said in a statement. “He has the confidence of our caucus and will do a great job for our candidates running in 2018. The map is tough for Democrats, but I have no doubt that Senator-elect Van Hollen is up to the task.”

Van Hollen defeated state Del. Kathy Szeliga (R-Baltimore County) in the general election, winning more than 60 percent of the vote.

He has served seven terms in the U.S. House and was the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee and a top lieutenant to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).