News · Press Release

The Real (MAGA Extremist) Brandon Williams

Williams’ own constituents are fed up with the Congressman’s extremism

Over the past couple of weeks, vulnerable New York Republican Brandon Williams has been exposed for who he truly is: a MAGA extremist.

A laundry list of MAGA grievances for Williams: 

  1. Ranked the sixth most vulnerable Congressman in the country.
  2. Voted for extreme nationwide restrictions on abortion medication.
  3. Backtracked on campaign promises to protect abortion.
  4. Caved to extremists by hiring MAGA staffers – and appearing to realign policy priorities accordingly.
  5. Flip-flopped on taking pay during a looming GOP-manufactured shutdown despite having a net worth of millions.

… The list goes on.

In case you missed it: 

The National Journal: Hotline’s initial 2024 House Power Rankings
The most publicly conservative among the vulnerable New York Republicans, Williams notched a 2-point victory over Francis Conole last year. Williams skates under the radar, but Democratic operatives see a prime opportunity in the Biden-won, Syracuse-area seat.”

 

The Post-Standard: Rep. Brandon Williams has 3rd highest staff turnover rate in House
“As part of the turnover, Williams hired new staffers with stronger ties to the far right and former President Donald Trump… The changes coincided with a rightward shift in some of Williams’ legislative priorities and political rhetoric.”

 

The Citizen: Letter: Williams intentionally bends the truth
“The latest misleading message from extremist Rep. Brandon Williams is more irritating than surprising. In his latest taxpayer funded constituent mailing, Williams gave a completely fabricated single reason for increased electricity and natural gas costs in NY since 2020. Truthfully, there are several causes for the increases, none of which result from the Biden administration’s policies.”

 

The Post Standard: Williams, House GOP should choose compromise over chaos for Speaker
Williams hitched his wagon to McCarthy’s but Central New York has little to show for it beyond the bare minimum of a functioning federal government. McCarthy came here in August to raise money for Williams. He praised the success of JMA Wireless without mentioning that he voted against the infrastructure bill that includes a ‘Buy American’ provision boosting JMA’s business. McCarthy also opposed the CHIPs and Science Act, which paved the way for Micron’s proposed multibillion-dollar investment in Central New York.”

 

The Post Standard: Dogged reporting reveals ‘the real Brandon Williams’
“Kudos to Mark Weiner for his excellent coverage of our first-term Congressman, Brandon Williams, who will never again be able to claim to be a GOP moderate. He has misrepresented his stance on major issues at his town halls, such as a national abortion ban. He stated repeatedly that he would not support a national ban but, according to recent reports, he now does… Thanks to the dogged reporting of Mark Weiner, we are getting a glimpse of the real Brandon Williams, not the ‘reasonable moderate’ he sold to NY-22 voters.”

 

The Post-Standard: Rep. Brandon Williams flip flops within hours about taking pay during government shutdown
“Rep. Brandon Williams today asked for his salary to be withheld during a government shutdown, reversing his comments only hours earlier when he told a national television audience that he would continue to accept his $174,000 annual salary. Williams, a first-term Republican from Central New York, made the fast reversal after facing backlash from his Democratic opponents and others on social media… 

 

Later in the show, a caller criticized Williams for saying he would take a salary while federal employees and contractors would suffer. He said those workers won’t find much sympathy from those who work in the private sector and have been furloughed or lost pensions.”

 

The Citizen: Rep. Brandon Williams and his shutdown pay switcheroo
Whether it was due to a lack of caffeine or something else, U.S. Rep. Brandon Williams changed his stance on accepting his salary during a government shutdown hours after a nationally televised interview… In response to a reporter’s tweet about his flip-flop, he wrote, ‘Yeah, I shouldn’t do interviews before having my coffee in the morning.’” 

 

The Post-Standard: Rep. Brandon Williams moves toward far right with new staff rooted in Trump’s MAGA campaign
“U.S. Rep. Brandon Williams has used a string of staff firings and departures to remake his office on Capitol Hill into one with stronger ties to the far right and former President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement… After taking more of a bipartisan approach in his initial months in office, Williams has shifted some of his legislative priorities and rhetoric to align with positions pushed by the far-right House Freedom Caucus.

 

Since April, Williams has replaced other senior staffers who had previously worked for House members who prioritized bipartisanship. In their place, he hired staff more ideologically aligned with Trump and his ‘Make America Great Again’ movement… Williams backtracked on a campaign promise that he would not support a national abortion ban or vote for any bill in Congress that would attempt to set national abortion policies.

 

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