David Urban | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chair of the American Battle Monuments Commission | |
| In office July 2018 – January 20, 2021 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Merrill McPeak |
| Succeeded by | Mark P. Hertling |
| Personal details | |
| Born | David John Urban[1] March 6, 1964 Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | United States Military Academy (BS) University of Pennsylvania (MPA) Temple University (JD) |
David Urban (born March 6, 1964)[2] is an American lobbyist and political commentator for CNN. He is the managing director for BGR Group and serves on the board of directors for numerous companies.[example needed][citation needed]
Urban served as a senior advisor to the 2016 Donald Trump presidential campaign and helped orchestrate the 2016 Republican National Convention in a successful effort to win Pennsylvania.[3][4][5][6] He also advised Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign.[7][8]
A native of Aliquippa, Beaver County, Pennsylvania,[4][9] Urban was recruited to play football at Harvard University, but opted to instead attend the United States Military Academy at West Point,[6][10] where he was featured in the Black Knight's 1982 media guide.[10] An injury cut short his football career,[10] and he graduated in 1986 with a B.S.[5] Urban later simultaneously attended the University of Pennsylvania where he earned an M.P.A., and Temple University School of Law, where he received a J.D.[4][6][10]
Urban served as an artillery officer in the United States Army's 101st Airborne Division,[3] from 1986 to 1991. While serving in the Persian Gulf, he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious achievement during combat operations in Operation Desert Storm.[3][5][9]
Urban worked with the Philadelphia-based law firm of Ballard Spahr as a public finance attorney from 1994 to 1997,[5][6] when he became chief of staff to Senator Arlen Specter.[3][6]
In 2002 Urban became a partner at the American Continental Group (ACG). He later served as president until he left the company in July 2020.[11] ACG is a Washington-based lobbying firm that has worked with companies such as Comcast, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and Raytheon. He was recognized on The Hill's "Top Lobbyists" list in 2015,[12] 2016,[13] 2017,[14] and 2019.[15]
In April 2016, Urban joined Donald Trump's presidential campaign as senior advisor.[16] He was the deputy director of caucus operations and senior member on the ground in Cleveland for the 2016 Republican National Convention, spending over two months on that effort, and working to quell disruption by "Never Trump" delegates from the campaigns of other candidates.[3] Urban developed a relationship of frequent cell phone contact with Trump.[9] In November 2016, Urban helped gain the first presidential Republican win for Pennsylvania in over 28 years, and it was initially reported that he was being considered as the next chair of the Republican National Committee[17] The potential appointment was supported by former Republican Senator Rick Santorum and former Democratic Governor Ed Rendell.[18] It was also reported that Urban had been considered for several positions in the Trump Administration, including White House Deputy Chief of Staff[18][17] White House Chief of Staff,[4][11][19] and Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.[20] It was frequently reported that Trump was considering Urban to replace Reince Priebus, and later John Kelly, as White House Chief of Staff.[21][4][19][22]
As a political commentator for CNN,[23] Urban has commented on matters such as the House passage of the AHCA,[24] Trump's April 2017 National Rifle Association speech,[25] and Trump's 100 day mark.[26]
In May 2018, he was appointed by President Trump to the board of the American Battle Monuments Commission, and in July 2018, was elevated by Trump to be Chairman of that Commission.[27] Urban was the first (and to date, only) person to serve in this role without having served as a flag officer in the U.S. Armed Forces. In August 2019, Trump appointed Urban to the Board of Visitors of the United States Military Academy.[1] In 2020, Urban's firm represented businesses including Walgreens and Ultimate Fighting Championship in lobbying with respect to COVID-19-related issues.[28]
Urban was an adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon University's H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management.[5] As of 2021[update] Urban is a member of the board of directors of the Johnny Mac Soldiers Fund,[29] and a co-owner of PoliticsPA.[30] He serves on the Board of Directors of Virtu Financial,[31] Subcom and Stratolaunch Systems.[32]
In 2020, he became the Executive Vice President for North American corporate affairs at ByteDance (the Chinese corporate owner of TikTok), a position he left in 2022.[33] He took a position as the managing director of BGR Group in April 2022.[32]