.. Early life and education
Vos was born in 1968, in Burlington, Wisconsin, in Racine County. He graduated from Burlington High School in 1986.[6]
Vos attended the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater, where he studied political science and public relations. While at Whitewater, he roomed with Reince Priebus, who later became chairman of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, chairman of the Republican National Committee, and White House chief of staff. In 1989, Wisconsin governor Tommy Thompson appointed Vos as a student representative on the University of Wisconsin board of regents. Vos graduated in 1991.[6]
Business career and early political career
After graduation, Vos worked as a legislative assistant to state representatives Jim Ladwig and Bonnie Ladwig.[6] In 1994, Vos was elected to the Racine county board of supervisors. He remained on the board for the next 10 years.[7][6] Also in 1994, Vos worked as district director for U.S. representative Mark Neumann of Wisconsin.[6]
In 1996 Vos purchased the RoJos Popcorn Company in Burlington.[6][8] In 2020, his popcorn business, Robin J. Vos Enterprises, received more than $150,000 in coronavirus relief from the Paycheck Protection Program.[9]
Vos has an ownership stake of $4.8 million in rental properties in Whitewater, Wisconsin.[10] In 2021, Vos led Republican efforts in the Wisconsin legislature to redirect COVID-19 relief payments so that they would go directly to landlords, such as Vos, rather than renters.[10]
Wisconsin state legislature
In 2004, Vos ran for the Wisconsin state assembly to succeed Ladwig in the 63rd district. He was unopposed in the 2004 primary and general elections.
After Republicans won full control of state government in Wisconsin in 2010, Vos rose to prominence pushing the controversial budget restructuring act alongside governor Scott Walker. The law curtailed collective bargaining rights and public education funding in Wisconsin, and led to massive protests around the state, culminating in the 2012 Wisconsin gubernatorial recall election.[6]
In 2013, Vos was elected speaker of the Wisconsin assembly.[6][11] Between 2014 and 2018 he received about $57,000 in travel and perks from lobbyists and organizations. He said he was certain he had followed ethics rules with his travel.[12][13][14] Vos supports deregulating the payday loan industry.[12] He opposes Medicaid expansion and spearheaded Republican efforts to block Medicaid expansion in Wisconsin.[15][16] Vos argued against Medicaid, saying "Trapping people in the life of poverty is not something that there's ever the right amount of money to do."
In 2016 Vos endorsed Marco Rubio for the Republican nomination for president. After Rubio dropped out of the race, Vos endorsed Ted Cruz.[17] In August 2016, Vos wrote in a column on a conservative website that he was "embarrassed" that Donald Trump was "leading our ticket" as the presumptive Republican nominee;[18][19] the next month, Vos said that he was "proud" to support Trump's candidacy due to his belief that Trump would energize Republican voters.[20]
In February 2019 Vos defended Brian Hagedorn, a judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals running for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, amid reports that Hagedorn had founded a school in 2016 that allowed for the expulsion of students and faculty if they were gay. Vos said he believed Hagedorn could rule fairly on LGBT issues.[21]
In July 2019 Vos was widely criticized for refusing to prohibit overnight floor sessions or allow Democratic lawmaker Jimmy Anderson, who is paralyzed and uses a wheelchair, to phone into committee meetings.[22][23] He later accused Anderson of political grandstanding[24] and attempting to sabotage him as Vos took on his new national role as head of the National Conference of State Legislatures.[25]
In November 2020, Vos was reelected by 16 percentage points.[26]
In February 2021, Vos sent a letter to the governor asking him to order that flags on state buildings be lowered in honor of right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh, who had recently died. Lauded by conservatives, Limbaugh was a divisive figure criticized for his derogatory comments about women, racial minorities and LGBT people, as well as on-air promotion of conspiracy theories and falsehoods.[27][28] Vos praised Limbaugh as "a pioneer in talk radio, a best-selling author and a commentator who inspired generations to become active in politics."[27]
In October 2021, Vos defended a heavily pro-Republican gerrymandered redistricting map for Wisconsin.[29] ..