As 2015 comes to a close and national security remains a top issue, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee signed on a new policy director with Capitol Hill experience.  

Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., announced Tuesday that Chris Tuttle would be the committee’s new policy director. Tuttle had previously worked at the Council on Foreign Relations. “Chris has remarkable experience in the foreign policy sphere, and we are glad to have him leading our policy staff as we continue to strengthen the committee’s role as a place to debate and to provide solutions to some of the most consequential foreign policy issues of our time,” Corker said in a statement.  

Tuttle had recently served as the managing director of CFR’s Washington Program, which facilitates discussions among members of the legislative and executive branches and diplomats. He also managed CFR’s Independent Task Force Program, which forms groups around foreign policy issues to reach a consensus.  

Prior to joining CFR, Tuttle worked for the State Department as the director of the Office of Strategic Communications and Planning. He also brings congressional experience to his new role, having worked as a chief of staff and senior policy adviser to former Rep. Mark Green, R-Wis., who left Congress in 2007 to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to Tanzania.  

Tuttle joins the committee as national security, foreign policy, and the U.S. strategy to combat the Islamic State, known as ISIS or ISIL, are at the forefront of the national debate.  

“I am grateful that Senator Corker has provided me this opportunity to return to public service, and I look forward to working with him and the top-notch committee staff he has assembled to address the big issues facing the world,” Tuttle said.