President Trump is rumored to be nearing a selection for U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, according to reports.
A New York Times reporter tweeted today that Dave Urban, who ran President Trump’s surprise successful campaign in Pennsylvania in 2016, is said to be the President’s pick for the U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
Dave Urban. Photo via ACG Consultants.
The top American newspaper’s White House correspondent, Maggie Haberman, shared the news via Twitter, citing “a person briefed.” As of the time of this article’s publishing, the report has yet to be confirmed.
Here’s what we know about Dave Urban:
Urban, a native of western Pennsylvania, was previously an attorney with Ballard Spahr in Philadelphia until 1997, when he left the Philadelphia region after six years here to serve as the late Sen. Arlen Specter’s chief of staff, Bizjournals.com reports.
Trump was reportedly considering Urban as the next chair of the Republican National Committee in November 2016, sources told CNN. Urban played a pivotal organizational role in the Republican National Convention in 2016.
Like his potential Saudi counterpart HRH Prince Khaled bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s new Ambassador to the United States, Urban has a military background. Urban is a West Point alum who won a Bronze Star in the first Iraq War, where he served with the 101st Airborne.
Urban also holds degrees from Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania.
Urban was affiliated with American Continental Group (ACG), a government affairs and strategic consulting services organization. According to Politico, Urban’s clients at ACG include blue chips like Comcast, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Raytheon, as well as the Keystone State’s Allegheny Health Network, Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency and Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority.
