From Temporary Clerk to Capitol Compass: The CRS Leadership Shuffle

It’s not every day that a library clerk becomes the guiding force behind Congress’s research engine, but Robert R. Newlen’s journey from the Inquiry Unit in 1975 to interim director of the Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a testament to institutional memory at its finest. The CRS, born out of a 1914 law and originally known as the Legislative Reference Service, exists to arm Congress with nonpartisan research and analysis—always confidential, always objective. Newlen’s decades-long tenure at the Library of Congress saw him shape everything from legislative briefings to major exhibitions, and his leadership now comes at a time when CRS is modernizing its technology and expanding its reach. With a legacy built on discretion and expertise, CRS continues to be Congress’s backstage brain trust—quietly fueling the nation’s legislative engine, one well-researched answer at a time. #CongressionalResearch #LibraryOfCongress #CulturalLeadership #Culture