Rep. Brandon Williams, R-N.Y., is on a short list of contenders being considered for the nomination of Labor Secretary under President-elect Donald Trump’s new administration.
Williams, who represents central New York, was viewed as one of the most vulnerable House Republican incumbents this election cycle because state Democratic leaders redrew his district to make it more favorable to their party. He was defeated by Democratic state Sen. John Mannion last week, but a source close to the president-elect’s transition team confirmed to Fox News Digital that Williams is now under consideration to join Trump’s Cabinet.
“Brandon Williams was an exceptional member of congress who jumped into the race two years ago to challenge John Katko after he voted to impeach President Trump,” the source told Fox News Digital. “He’s a Navy veteran who served as an officer on a nuclear submarine, is a businessman and tech entrepreneur, was a political outsider, and will advance President Trump’s mission.”
Citing sources, the New York Post was first to report about Williams’ consideration for Labor secretary, revealing he is on the “short version of the short list” and high-level conversations were happening on the matter Friday, days after the election.
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Rep. Brandon Williams, R-N.Y., participates in a news conference to introduce the No Fortune For Fraud Act outside the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, March 7, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Williams serves on three House committees: Transportation and Infrastructure; Science, Space, and Technology; and Education and the Workforce. He is also a member of several caucuses, including the Republican Main Street Caucus, which focuses on “implementing pro-growth policies for small business owners, fostering economic and individual prosperity, and delivering real results for the American people,” according to its website.
Rep. Brandon Williams, R-N.Y., speaks during a hearing with subcommittee members of the House Education and the Workforce committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on May 8, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
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Politico had reported on Tuesday that Williams is among names being “floated” for a position in the Trump administration, but the outlet did not specify Tuesday what that executive branch job could be.
Rep. Brandon Williams, R-N.Y., listens at a hearing called “Calling for Accountability: Stopping Antisemitic College Chaos” before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce on May 23, 2024. (Michael A. McCoy/Getty Images)
Politico reported two other possible contenders for Labor secretary: Patrick Pizzella, a former U.S. deputy Labor secretary, and Bryan Slater, the state Labor secretary under Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
Trump has already selected two high-profile New Yorkers to join his Cabinet.
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House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik, who was elected to a sixth term last week, will be pulled from Congress to become the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Lee Zeldin, a former Republican congressman who nearly ousted Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul in a competitive, but unsuccessful, 2022 bid to run the Empire State, has been campaigning on behalf of Trump and was selected to join the cabinet as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.