Vin Weber

Life and career

Weber was born in Slayton, Minnesota. He attended the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities from 1970 to 1974. He had been the co-publisher of Murray County newspaper and the president of Weber Publishing Company. He was press secretary to Representative Tom Hagedorn from 1974 to 1975, a senior aide to Senator Rudy Boschwitz from 1977 to 1980. Weber had also been a delegate to the Minnesota State Republican conventions in 1972 and 1978. In 1980, at the age of 28 he was elected to the Sixth Congressional District, defeating Archie Baumann by 53 to 47 percent. Baumann had been an aide to former congressman Richard Nolan. He is now a resident of Walker, Minnesota.

Weber chose not to run for reelection in 1992 and retired from congress following the House banking scandal, in which he was implicated for writing 125 bad checks worth nearly $48,000. As secretary of the House Republican Conference and key adviser to incoming Speaker Newt Gingrich, he was considered one of the architects of the Republicans' success in 1994. He was a commentator on National Public Radio the following year about developments in Congress after the Republicans took control of the House, providing commentary on the "revolution" he had helped create. Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting reported that Weber frequently offered his opinions on NPR about health care issues, but never revealed that he was a paid lobbyist for several health insurance giants.

He is a member of the Project for the New American Century (PNAC) and was one of the signers of the PNAC Letter sent to US President Bill Clinton dated January 26, 1998, advocating "the removal of Saddam Hussein’s regime from power" along with Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and 29 other notable Republicans.

Weber was managing partner of the Washington, D.C. branch of lobbying firm Clark & Weinstock. In 2006, home mortgage giant Freddie Mac paid Weber $360,297 to lobby on its behalf to fend off meaningful regulation in the lead-up to the subprime mortgage crisis. Weber also lobbied for Gazprom, Russia's state-owned natural gas company.

In 2011 Clark & Weinstock merged with Mercury, with Weber becoming a partner in the combined firm.

Weber is considered one of the most prominent strategists in the Republican Party, serving as a top advisor on Dole for President in 1996, the Bush reelection campaign in 2004, and Romney for President in 2008. Weber also serves as chairman of the National Endowment for Democracy, a private, nonprofit organization designed to strengthen democratic institutions around the world through nongovernmental efforts. He is a senior fellow at the Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota, where he is co-director of the Policy Forum. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the Institute for Law and Politics at the University of Minnesota Law School and the nonprofit America Abroad Media. Weber is a board member of several private-sector and nonprofit organizations, including ITT Educational Services, Department 56, and the Aspen Institute. He also serves on the board of The Council on Foreign Relations and co-chaired the Independent Task Force on U.S. Policy toward Reform in the Arab World with former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. In addition, Weber is a member of the U.S. Secretary of Energy's Advisory Board.

Weber was against a Donald Trump presidency, telling CNBC "I can't imagine I'd remain a Republican if he becomes president."