Robert J Kabel

Kabel is a longtime Washington insider who represents D.C. on the Republican National Committee. One of the RNC’s first openly gay members—and the first to chair a state Republican committee—Kabel has no patience for the right-wing social agenda. Before the 2012 GOP convention, Kabel drafted language opposing a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in the D.C. Republican Committee’s platform. It was the only state party committee to show up at the convention with a platform draft endorsing “full and equal protection under the laws and the Constitution” for “all individuals, without regard to sexual orientation.” A lifelong Republican, Kabel was also a pioneering gay activist. He became involved in the Log Cabin Republicans, the nation’s largest GOP organization dedicated to representing gay and lesbian conservatives and allies, in the late 1980s, and continues to serve on its board. He chaired the group from 1993 to 1999. Kabel’s career in government began when he joined the staff of Tennessee Governor Winfield Dunn after law school. He also volunteered as a speechwriter for Tennessee Senator Howard Baker. He headed to Washington nearly four decades ago to serve as legislative director for Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana. Baker, then Senate majority leader, recommended him for a job on President Ronald Reagan’s staff as a special assistant for legislative affairs. He worked in the White House from 1982 to 1985. As an attorney and lobbyist with the global law firm Faegre Baker Daniels and its consulting division, FaegreBD Consulting, where he has practiced since 2002, Kabel mainly works with clients in the financial services industry to shape federal legislation and regulation. Kabel is a native of Cincinnati and earned his B.A. from Denison University. He was attracted to Vanderbilt Law School because of a scholarship offered to Denison graduates. After moving to Washington, Kabel earned a master’s degree in tax policy at Georgetown University Law.