Vin Weber

John Vincent "Vin" Weber (born July 24, 1952) is a lobbyist and former Republican Congressman from Minnesota.

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 chose not to run for reelection in 1992, and is now a resident of Walker, Minnesota.

Weber retired from congress in 1992, 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 Republican's 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.