Brandon Williams: “I would like to take this time to recognize and thank a friend and confidant who has been by my side for the last 15…”

“I would like to take this time to recognize and thank a friend and confidant who has been by my side for the last 15 years. I first met my chief of staff, Robert Colby Hale, when he was 22 years old. I was the commencement speaker at his graduation ceremony at Hardin-Simmons University, and he introduced me on stage. In that moment, I never imagined so many years later our paths would take us to the Texas secretary of state's office in Austin and now to the U.S. House of Representatives. I gave Colby his first job and watched him grow from a recent college graduate into the husband, father, and professional that he is today. He has been my right-hand man since before I decided to run for Congress in 2012. He believed in me, and he encouraged me every single day. There is no one's counsel that I have trusted more. Colby will be missed around our office, but he is leaving his legacy in the capable hands of those he trained and those he mentored. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the 25th Congressional District of Texas and the United States Congress, I thank Mr. Colby Hale. I thank him for his years of service to this district and to the American people. I am excited to see where life takes him next, and he should know that he will always be on the home team. In God we trust. ____________________”