| Robert J. Kabel | |
| Nationality: | American |
| Occupation: | Lawyer |
Robert (Bob) J. Kabel is an American lawyer. He is a Republican attorney, lobbyist, and former National Committeeman of the District of Columbia Republican Committee.[1] In this capacity, he was a member of the Republican National Committee. Previously, he was Chairman of the D.C. Republican Committee from December 2004 through January 2013.
Kabel served on the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS and its International Committee during the George W. Bush administration He has also been involved with the Whitman-Walker Clinic, where he was a fundraiser.
He has been involved in Republican politics throughout his career; during the presidency of Ronald Reagan, Kabel served for three years as Special Assistant to President Reagan for Legislative Affairs. He is a former Legislative Director for Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) and former Legislative Assistant to Senator Paul Fannin (R-AZ). He also served as a part-time member of the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission.
Kabel was the chairman of the Log Cabin Republicans from 1993 to 1999 and 2014–2016.[2] He also served as chairman of the Liberty Education Forum, which is the think-tank arm of the Log Cabin Republicans.[2] From 2000 to 2004, Kabel was vice chairman of the District of Columbia Republican Committee.[2] He led the party to write its first platform, which explicitly opposed a federal constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, the only state-level Republican Party to do so.[2] In December 2004 he was voted the chairman, becoming the first openly gay chair of a state-level Republican Committee.[2]
In 2016, Kabel published a memoir, Inside and Out: the Odyssey of a Gay Conservative.