Robin Joseph Vos (born July 5, 1968) is an American businessman and Republican politician and the 79th speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly, serving in that role since 2013.

[4] Vos has been speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly since 2013, retaining Republican control of the chamber through Republican-created maps.

[12][14] In 2020, his popcorn business, Robin J. Vos Enterprises, received more than $150,000 in coronavirus relief from the Paycheck Protection Program.

[16] 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 himself, rather than renters.

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.

[21][22] 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."

[27] 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.

[32] 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.

[33][34] Vos praised Limbaugh as "a pioneer in talk radio, a best-selling author and a commentator who inspired generations to become active in politics.

[40] Christopher Beem of the McCourtney Institute of Democracy at Pennsylvania State University described Wisconsin Republicans' power grab as a "deeply undemocratic act" that, while possibly legal, eroded democratic norms by frustrating the expressed will of a majority of the electorate, immediately after an election, to make it "more difficult for the incoming administration to undertake actions that the majority has just shown that it wants.

[42] In 2021, Politico wrote that Vos was effectively a shadow governor of Wisconsin as he and the Republican majority in the state senate had used their powers "to block, thwart or resist almost every significant move made by Democratic Gov.

[45] Due to the coronavirus pandemic, it was estimated that many voters would be effectively disenfranchised, and in-person voting was also considered a public health risk.

Vos and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald had been warned that this would happen if the waiver was not passed in time.

[51] In October 2020, during the pandemic, Vos and Fitzgerald filed a brief in support of a lawsuit by the right-wing law firm Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty that sought to block a statewide mandate, issued by Governor Evers, requiring the wearing of face masks in indoor public places to prevent the spread of the virus.

[54] In November 2021, Vos said that members of the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) should "probably" face felony charges for easing some of the regulations around voting in nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

[65] At the same time, both Trump and Gableman criticized Vos for not supporting decertification of Biden's victory, and both endorsed his primary opponent.

The August 2022 primary was the closest race of Vos's career: he defeated election denier and Christian nationalist Adam Steen by fewer than 300 votes.

[66] Donald Trump endorsed Steen after Vos refused to fully support unsubstantiated claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

Less than a month after she assumed office, Vos began leading calls to impeach her, using the Legislature's large Republican majorities.

[71] The situation prompted intense backlash, with state and national Democrats accusing Vos of attempting to throw out the 2023 election.

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin began a $4 million campaign to pressure Assembly Republicans to go on record about their position on impeachment.

The new bill included no safeguards to prevent the legislature from ignoring or overruling the commission by simple majority vote and entirely removed the Wisconsin Supreme Court's jurisdiction over redistricting cases.

[73][74] Vos subsequently announced that he had convened a special advisory panel of former Wisconsin Supreme Court judges—including former Republican speaker David Prosser Jr.—to help him form a rationale for impeaching Protasiewicz.

Her primary role is to issue non-binding advisory opinions to the local clerks on questions about the law or the decisions voted on by the six elections commissioners.

[78] Kaul sued in state court to clarify Wolfe's legal status, after which lawyers for legislative Republicans admitted that their vote of disapproval had been merely "symbolic".

[79][80] As the senate confirmation process no longer seemed viable, State Representative Janel Brandtjen began circulating articles of impeachment against Wolfe.

[81] The PAC appeared to have ties to former justice Michael Gableman, who had previewed many of the group's demands a week earlier, echoing Brandtjen's calls to see her articles of impeachment referred to committee.

[82][83] Hours after the pressure campaign was publicly announced, Vos took steps to move forward with the impeachment, referring the proposal to the Assembly Committee on Government Accountability and Oversight.

[87] During the recall petition signature-collection phase, the Wisconsin Elections Commission recommended felony charges against Brandtjen and a Donald Trump super PAC for laundering donations to Vos's 2022 primary opponent.