Mark Meadows takes over as White House chief of staff

March 31 (UPI) -- Less than a day after resigning his seat in the House, Mark Meadows started his new job as White House chief of staff on Tuesday.

Meadows, a five-term member of the House from North Carolina, resigned from Congress at 5 p.m. Monday, more than three weeks after he was tapped by President Donald Trump as his new chief of staff.

As chairman and co-founding member of the House Freedom Caucus, Meadows was one of the president's strongest allies in Congress. He said in December he wouldn't seek re-election.

Meadows is Trump's fourth chief of staff in four years, and replaces acting chief Mick Mulvaney. Reince Priebus and John Kelly were the first two to occupy the role.

Meadows begins his new job during a national emergency, and as the Trump administration faces daily challenges to address the coronavirus outbreak, which has so far killed more than 3,000 people in the United States.

House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy predicted Meadows will be effective in the top White House post.

"He will make a great chief of staff, and I think having him as chief of staff only makes the relationship stronger for the House and Senate with the White House," McCarthy told NBC News. "He's had great relationships on both sides of the aisle."

Meadows, 60, spent about two weeks this month as the ranking Republican on the House oversight committee.