Roger Williams | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chair of theHouse Small Business Committee | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Nydia Velázquez |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromTexas's25th district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Lloyd Doggett (redistricted) |
| 105thSecretary of State of Texas | |
| In office February 8, 2005 – July 1, 2007 | |
| Governor | Rick Perry |
| Preceded by | Geoff Connor |
| Succeeded by | Phil Wilson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Roger Williams (1949-09-13)September 13, 1949 (age 76) Evanston, Illinois, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Patty Williams |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Texas Christian University (BA) |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
Williams recognizing the 110th anniversary of theRotary Club ofFort Worth, Texas. Recorded May 23, 2023 | |
John Roger Williams (born September 13, 1949) is an American businessman and politician who has been theU.S. representative forTexas's 25th congressional district since 2013. A member of theRepublican Party, he served underGovernorRick Perry asSecretary of State of Texas from 2004 to 2007.
Williams was born inEvanston, Illinois, in 1949[1] and raised inFort Worth. He playedcollege baseball for theTexas Christian University Horned Frogs (TCU) from 1968 to 1971 and was selected in the 25th round of the1971 MLB Draft by theAtlanta Braves, playing in thefarm system and reaching theClass AWestern Carolinas League.[2] He coached TCU's baseball team. Williams inherited the family'sautomobile dealership from his father, who founded the business in 1939.[3]
Williams began his political career as a fundraiser forGovernor George W. Bush in his 1994 and 1998 elections. He became North Texas Chairman for theBush/Cheney 2000 campaign, North Texas Finance Chairman in 2004, and National Grassroots Fundraising Chairman for the2004 campaign.[citation needed]
GovernorRick Perry appointed Williams to be his fourthSecretary of State of Texas in 2004.[4]
On June 11, 2007, Williams announced that he would resign as secretary of state, and late in 2008 he formed an exploratory committee to consider a run for theUnited States Senate seat held byKay Bailey Hutchison, who had formed her own committee to consider a 2010 race for governor of Texas. Williams considered a run for Senate in 2012 but decided to run for the House of Representatives instead.[5]
In June 2011, Williams announced that he was dropping his Senate bid to instead run forTexas's 25th congressional district.[5][6] The district was a newly drawn district stretching from centralAustin toBurleson. Congressional district 25 has been cited as one of Texas's mostgerrymandered districts.[7][8] Williams began residing in the district the year of the election.
Williams ranked first with 25% of the vote and qualified for arunoff election. Wes Riddle ranked second with 15%.[9] In the July 31 runoff, Williams defeated Riddle, 58% to 42%.[10] In the November general election, Williams defeated Democratic nominee Elaine Henderson, 58%–37%.[11]
In the November 4 general election, Williams defeated Democrat Marco Montoya and Libertarian John Betz, receiving 107,120 votes (60.22%) to Montoya's 64,463 (36.24%) and Betz's 6,300 (3.54%).[12] Williams unsuccessfully challengedNational Republican Congressional Committee chairGreg Walden ofOregon in Walden's bid for reelection as chair after the election.[13]
Williams won his third term in the House on November 8, whenDonald Trump carried theelectoral vote majority overHillary Rodham Clinton. Williams polled 180,988 votes (58.4%) to Democratic nominee Kathi Thomas's 117,073 (37.7%).Libertarian Loren Marc Schneiderman received 12,135 votes (3.9%).[14]
Williams won his fourth term in the House in the general election on November 6. With 162,288 votes (53.6%), he defeated Democratic nominee Julie Oliver, who polled 135,288 (44.7%). Another 5,124 (1.7%) went to the Libertarian Party nominee, Desarae Lindsey.[15]
Williams was reelected with 56% of the vote to Democratic nominee Julie Oliver's 42%. Libertarian nominee Bill Kelsey won 2% of the vote.[16]
In 2015, Williams condemned the Supreme Court's decision inObergefell v. Hodges, which held thatsame-sex marriage bans violated the constitution.[17]
Williams supported Trump's 2017executive order imposing a ban on entry to the U.S. to citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries, calling it a "commonsense" measure and saying that opponents "are lost in thepolitical correctness of this."[18]
In October 2020,The Houston Chronicle reported that Williams had tried to help a donor in his dealings with a publicly traded bank.[19]
On May 3, 2016, theHouse Ethics Committee initiated an investigation into Williams after he inserted a provision into a $300 billion transportation funding bill, theFixing America's Surface Transportation Act, that exempted some car dealerships like his from a proposal to prevent rental car companies from renting out vehicles that were subject to safety recalls.[20] The legislation was spurred by the deaths of Raechel and Jacqueline Houck,[21] who were killed in 2004 while driving a rented, recalled vehicle that caught fire and crashed into a semi.[22] The investigation's focus was a provision Williams authored that would have exempted dealerships like his and allowed renting vehicles under active safety recall.[23][24] The independent nonpartisanOffice of Congressional Ethics found that Williams violated House ethics rules, noting that he refused to cooperate; by unanimous, bipartisan vote the OCE found that "there is substantial reason to believe that Rep. Williams' personal financial interest in his auto dealership may be perceived as having influenced his performance of official duties—namely, his decision to offer an amendment to the surface transportation legislation".[25] The House Ethics committee determined that the amendment "could have affected Representative Williams' personal financial interests" but decided to end the investigation and took no further action.[26][27]
During theCOVID-19 pandemic, Williams's Chrysler Dodge Jeep dealership in Weatherford, Texas, received a loan of between $1 million and $2 million as part of thePaycheck Protection Program (PPP);[28][29] the loan was later forgiven.[30][31]
U.S. RepresentativeKatie Porter later introduced legislation that would require all loans under the PPP to be made public.[32][33]The Washington Post highlighted March 2020 comments by Williams inThe Epoch Times, where he said, "A socialist wants you to get a check from the government...a capitalist wants you to get a check from the place that you work."[34]
Williams voted against the TRUTH Act (H.R. 6782), a bill that would have required public disclosure of companies that received funds through the bailout program.[35][36][37][38]
In December 2020, Williams was one of 126 Republican members of theHouse of Representatives to sign anamicus brief in support ofTexas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at theUnited States Supreme Court contesting the results of the2020 presidential election, in whichJoe Biden defeated Trump.[39] The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lackedstanding underArticle III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state.[40][41][42]
In September 2021, nonprofit groupCampaign Legal Center filed an ethics complaint against Williams with theOffice of Congressional Ethics, claiming that Williams appeared to have violated theStop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act of 2012, a federal transparency and conflict-of-interest law, by failing to properly disclose sales of stock inGeneral Electric,Nvidia, andThe Walt Disney Co. worth between $3,003 and $45,000 made by his wife in 2019.[43]
Williams and his wife Patty live inWeatherford, the seat ofParker County, and have two daughters. He married Patty Jung in 1983 and remained married until her death on January 17, 2025.
He owns an automobile dealership in Weatherford that he inherited.[3] With a net worth of $27.7 million, Williams was listed as the22nd wealthiest member of Congress in 2018.[46]
Williams is a trustee of TCU and theGeorge Bush School of Government and Public Service atTexas A&M University inCollege Station.[citation needed]
Williams is the coach of the Republican team for theCongressional Baseball Game.[47] On June 14, 2017, he was present duringa shooting attack on a practice for the game. He was taken from the area on a stretcher due to an ankle injury he suffered while jumping into the dugout during the attack.[48][49] A member of his staff was shot and taken to the hospital, where he was treated for a leg injury and released.[50][47]
Williams has shaken the hand of everypresident sinceHarry S. Truman.[51]
Williams isProtestant.[52]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Secretary of State of Texas 2005–2007 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromTexas's 25th congressional district 2013–present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Chair of theHouse Small Business Committee 2023–present | |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | United States representatives by seniority 121st | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
