John Vincent Weber (born July 24, 1952) is an American politician, lobbyist and former Republican Congressman from Minnesota. Early life and education Weber was born in Slayton, Minnesota. He attended the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities from 1970 to 1974. Career Weber was press secretary to Representative Tom Hagedorn from 1974 to 1975 and a senior aide to Senator Rudy Boschwitz from 1977 to 1980. He had been the co-publisher of Murray County newspaper from 1976 to 1978 and the president of Weber Publishing Company. Weber was a delegate to the Minnesota State Republican conventions in 1972 and 1978. In 1980, at the age of 28, he was elected to the U. S. House of Representatives, defeating Archie Baumann, 53% to 47%. Baumann had been an aide to former Representative Richard Nolan. 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 (NPR) 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. Weber was a member of the now defunct Project for the New American Century (PNAC) and was one of the signers of the PNAC Letter sent to US President Bill Clinton on 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 opened and managed 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, and Weber became a partner in the combined firm. Weber is a prominent strategist in the Republican Party, serving as a top advisor on Dole for President in 1996,