ABC News President Ben Sherwood announced a key hire for the division today, sending a memo to staffers to introduce Jeff Zeleny, TheWrap.com reports.

Zeleny comes to ABC from the New York Times, where he was recently praised by executive editor Jill Abramson as "a cornerstone of our political coverage,” the report notes.

Zeleny will be senior Washington correspondent for ABC News, covering Congress and politics.

In his memo, Sherwood said: “If you’re interested in presidential campaigns or national affairs, then you’re well aware of Jeff’s byline at The New York Times and his exclusive reporting and prolific writing.

“Over the past 12 years Jeff has traveled to all 50 states and reported from more than two-dozen countries while covering four presidential campaigns including Barack Obama’s road to the White House, the Tea Party movement, Capitol Hill and the inside game of politics.”

Sherwood also noted: “Earlier this month Jeff revealed that Karl Rove is starting a new group to focus on recruiting seasoned Republican candidates to run in the next round of congressional races — a story that drove the news cycle for days.”

Jeff Zeleny