Michael R. Wessel

Michael R. Wessel is an American commissioner of the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission since 2001, and president of The Wessel Group, a public affairs consulting firm. Wessel previously worked for House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt from 1977 until 1998, becoming General Counsel for congressman Gephardt in 1991. He became a Fellow of the Economic Policy Institute in 1996, and has worked for the presidential campaigns of Bill Clinton, John Kerry and Barack Obama.
Biography
Early life
He received a B.A. and a J.D. from George Washington University.<ref name="wesselgroup"/>
Career
He worked for Missouri Democratic Representative Dick Gephardt for more than twenty years.<ref name"wesselgroup"/><ref name"uschina"/> Fellow of the Economic Policy Institute in 1996.<ref name="goodyear"/> In 1999, he was appointed by the United States Congress to serve as a commissioner on the U.S. Trade Deficit Review Commission which published its report to Congress in 2000.
In 2001, he was appointed by the United States Congress as a commissioner of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.<ref name"goodyear"/><ref name"uschina"/> He was reappointed from 2003 to 2021.<ref name="uschina"/> From 1999 to 2005, he served as Senior Vice President with the Downey McGrath Group, a lobbying firm co-founded by Thomas Downey and Raymond J. McGrath.<ref name"goodyear"/> He served as its Executive Vice President in 2006.<ref name"goodyear"/>
He worked on the presidential campaigns of Bill Clinton, John Kerry, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.<ref name"uschina"/> In May 2006, he founded The Wessel Group, a consulting firm on government, politics, and international affairs.<ref name"wesselgroup"/> He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.<ref name="wesselgroup"/> He serves as staff chair to the Labor Advisory Committee, a statutory trade advisory committee to the United States Trade Representative and Secretary of Labor.
He has been a frequent commentator on television, radio and in print media. He has authored articles that have appeared in a variety of international publications. He has also appeared numerous times as a witness at Congressional hearings.
He sits on the Board of Directors of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company (since 2005).<ref name"goodyear"/><ref name"wesselgroup"/><ref name="uschina"/>
Personal life
He is married to Andrea Wessel, and they have four children.<ref name="uschina"/>
Publications
Books
*An Even Better Place: America in the 21st Century (Public Affairs, 1999)
Other publications
*The Huawei Security Threat: There is a genuine national security need to block a Chinese investment in U.S. telecommunications, Michael Wessel and Larry Wortzel, The Wall Street Journal, October 17, 2010
* U.S. Should Seek Reciprocity with China, Michael Wessel, Financial Times, December 11, 2011
* Chinese purchase of Complete Genomics requires scrutiny, Michael Wessel and Larry Wortzel, The Mercury News, December 10, 2012
* Another View: China wants to buy from others, not open its markets, Michael Wessel and Daniel Slane, The Des Moines Register, June 7, 2013
* Growing U.S.-China Investment? Not a BIT, Michael Wessel, The Hill, March 10, 2015
* The Trans Pacific Partnership won’t fix our China problem, Michael Wessel, The Hill, April 17, 2015
* The TPP: Why it Won’t Address Security Concerns with China, Michael Wessel and Dan Slane, Council on Foreign Relations, Renewing America, May 15, 2015
* I’ve read Obama’s Trade Deal. Elizabeth Warren is Right to be Concerned, Politico, May 19, 2015
* Why the U.S. Should Be Wary of Chinese Money: China’s investment comes with a hidden agenda. And a secretive new treaty is about to make it worse, Politico, September 24, 2015
* We need a slow, step-by-step restart with China, The Washington Post, May 24, 2020

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