Corker Named to Foreign Relations Committee

US Senator Bob Corker, R-Tenn., will be the lead Republican or “ranking member” of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for the 113th Congress.

Corker’s appointment will be confirmed today during a lunch meeting of Senate Republicans and is expected to be ratified when the Senate passes a resolution officially organizing committees in the coming days.

As ranking member, Corker will work with the chairman to represent the interests of his Republican colleagues and help carry out the legislative and oversight responsibilities of the committee.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to lead the Foreign Relations Committee on behalf of the minority, and as we enter this new Congress, it is my goal to see the committee play a more relevant role in international relations and be a place where we look at our national interests in the context of the longer view,” said Corker. “I also look forward to working with the chairman and my colleagues on the committee to carefully review programs and practices at USAID and the State Department, which hasn’t been done in a comprehensive way in decades. This should include a top-to-bottom review of all foreign assistance programs and State Department authorities to ensure that they are being conducted in line with American strategic national interests.”