Cornerstone Government Affairs announced the addition of Christian Lee to its national security team Monday. Christian most recently served as a professional staff member on the Senate Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security.
Before he retired from the U.S. Coast Guard, Christian was assigned as a detailee to the Senate Appropriations Committee, where he served as a professional staff member for three years. During his tenure, Christian was the lead analyst for the Transportation Security Administration, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers, and Office of the Secretary and Management accounts, which oversees more than $10 billion in appropriations annually.
Before his tenure in the Senate, Christian served as the acquisition appropriations coordinator in the Coast Guard’s Office of Budget and Programs. In that role, he was responsible for formulating and defending the Coast Guard’s near $2 billion annual acquisition appropriation and $10 billion Capital Investment Plan.
Christian’s initial Congressional experience was as assistant liaison to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he started in August 2001, just prior to the terrorist attacks of 9/11. He conducted critical outreach and facilitated senior level engagements with members of Congress and staff during a time of unprecedented change and growth for the Coast Guard, including passing the landmark Homeland Security Act of 2002, and establishing the Department of Homeland Security. Christian remained in the House for an additional tour as the Coast Guard Fellow on the Select Committee on Homeland Security. In this capacity, he advised the Chairman on maritime security matters and helped establish the permanent standing Committee on Homeland Security.
“We are thrilled to be adding Christian to our team,” said Cornerstone President and Managing Director Geoff Gonella. “He is not only a subject matter expert with an excellent reputation on both sides of the aisle and in both the legislative and executive branches of the federal government, but he is true professional and experienced leader who will immediately add value for our clients.”
“Christian has been an invaluable member of my subcommittee staff for the past three years, and I couldn’t have asked for a more capable advisor on issues of great importance to the security of our Nation,” said U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV). “I applaud Christian for over 23 years of service in the U.S. Coast Guard and am greatly thankful for his service to the Nation and the Senate. I wish him, and his family, all the best as he embarks on this next chapter in his already very distinguished career.”
“I am truly honored to join the Cornerstone team and am thrilled to be part of a firm who holds high the same values I carried throughout my career in the U.S. Coast Guard – integrity, honesty, accountability, collaboration, and teamwork,” Christian said. “I look forward to building upon the team’s impressive national and homeland security expertise and stand ready to use my unique knowledge of Congress and the executive branch to bolster the firm’s client offerings.”
