Urban served as a senior advisor to the 2016 Donald Trump presidential campaign and helped orchestrate the 2016 Republican National Convention in a successful effort to win Pennsylvania.

[7][8] A native of Aliquippa, Beaver County, Pennsylvania,[4][9] Urban was recruited to play football at Harvard University, but opted to instead attend the United States Military Academy at West Point,[6][10] where he was featured in the Black Knights' 1982 media guide.

[3][5][9] Urban worked with the Philadelphia-based law firm of Ballard Spahr as a public finance attorney from 1994 to 1997,[5][6] when he became chief of staff to Senator Arlen Specter.

[16] He was the deputy director of caucus operations and senior member on the ground in Cleveland for the 2016 Republican National Convention, spending over two months on that effort, and working to quell disruption by "Never Trump" delegates from the campaigns of other candidates.

[20] It was frequently reported that Trump was considering Urban to replace Reince Priebus, and later John Kelly, as White House Chief of Staff.

[28] Urban was an adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon University's H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management.