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Prior to joining CGCN, C. Travis Cone served in a variety of roles on Capitol Hill, becoming a respected staffer for energy, environment, infrastructure, appropriations, and financial services policy over a period of 13 years in both the Senate and House of Representatives.

Most recently, Cone served as Deputy Staff Director for the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) under Ranking Member Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), directly managing the environment team.  In this capacity, Cone led successful legislative negotiations, conducted regulatory oversight, scripted and managed committee hearings, and engaged in the reconciliation process related to agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and others.

Before joining the Committee in this role, Cone served as the Senior Legislative Assistant for Senator Capito, handling EPW issues as well as energy policy within the jurisdiction of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.  In this capacity, he also acted as the Staff Director for the Clean Air & Nuclear Safety Subcommittee and the Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee under the chairmanship of Senator Capito.

In the House, Cone most recently served as Legislative Director for Congressman Andy Barr (R-KY-06), a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee and handled that committee’s portfolio, specializing in oversight of Dodd-Frank Act implementation.

Previously, Cone served as a Legislative Assistant for Dean of the House and then-House Committee on Appropriations Chairman Harold Rogers (R-KY-05), managing the Interior-EPA, Energy and Water, and Financial Services appropriations portfolios.

Cone got his start in politics as an intern for Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

Cone received his B.A. in history from Columbia University and an M.A. in international affairs from the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce at the University of Kentucky.  Cone studied abroad at the Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies at Kyoto University.