Republican Roots: Congressman Gill Connects his Journey to GWCRs
- 19 hours ago
- 3 min read
Nathaniel Thomas, NY - Writer
On Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026, the GW College Republicans welcomed another esteemed guest to Foggy Bottom: Congressman Brandon Gill, the freshman U.S. Representative for Texas’ 26th congressional district and the youngest Republican member of Congress. During a 30-minute Q&A session with College Republicans President Kieran Laffey, Congressman Gill uniquely connected with the young conservatives in the crowd, sharing his journey to Congress, his vision for the future of the Republican Party, and his advice for those seeking to follow in his footsteps.
Congressman Gill explained his origins from a tiny public high school in rural Texas, graduating in a class of 24 students, to Dartmouth College, where the politics were the polar opposite of the conservative town he grew up in. He noted the ability of those in the audience to relate to this transition, and commended them for attending a university that challenged their belief systems, an experience he went through and described as “a baptism by fire.”
Congressman Gill’s presence and message were an incredible source of encouragement and gave many students in the audience a sense of optimism about the future of the Republican Party. After the event, freshman Sam Luxhoj said, “I was very impressed with the Congressman. Very smart and great at analyzing the priorities and challenges of conservative politics.” Even noting that Gill “seems like he will prove to be a point of strength in the future of the Republican Party.”
Looking to give Dartmouth’s conservatives a greater voice on the overwhelmingly liberal campus, he founded the Dartmouth Review. The Review, not unlike The Right Angle, started with a small group of writers and, in the congressman’s own statement to The Right Angle’s editorial board, “had a lot of fun stirring the pot on campus.” Gill described his motivation for creating an alternative news source at Dartmouth by highlighting the lack of understanding of conservative principles on large liberal college campuses. This is a truth conservatives at GW know all too well: “you’re inundated with liberalism… You understand how liberals view the world, but oftentimes, the left doesn’t understand how [you] view the world.”
Congressman Gill's passion for conservative media did not end when he graduated. In the aftermath of controversy around censorship in social media, he “saw an opportunity in the conservative media space and started a conservative media outlet, a then-online journal called the D.C. Enquirer”. The site attracted the attention of then-former President Donald J. Trump and became a major player in conservative media.
Later in the interview, Gill shared with the audience the key reason he decided to leave the private sector to run for office. After returning to Texas with his wife to raise their children, Gill recognized a disheartening incompatibility between the conservatism of many deep-red districts and the more moderate Republicans who represented them. Despite campaigning for only about 90 days before the primary and seeing over $2 million in negative campaign ads spent against him, Gill captivated the district's Republicans, received 58% of the vote, and was easily elected that fall.
In Congress, Gill described his extremely busy life serving on three committees - Budget, Oversight (including the DOGE subcommittee), and Judiciary - helping to pass the Big Beautiful Bill, among other legislative accomplishments. Much as he did in college, he has also focused on attempting to sway his colleagues' views through rigorous questioning in congressional hearings, including NPR CEO Katherine Maher and special prosecutor Jack Smith. Gill said of his witnesses: “I mean, I’m shocked a lot of the time at how poorly prepared these people are”.
When asked about his vision for the future of the Republican Party, Gill explained, “[Trump’s] ideology that brought the working class on board with the Republican Party is something that we have to stick with.” In terms of specific candidates to possibly lead the GOP’s ticket in 2028, Gill said, “We’ve got a pretty deep bench… we’ve got JD Vance, who’s done a phenomenal job, we’ve got Marco Rubio, who’s been a phenomenal Secretary of State… More broadly, I think the Republican Party is the party of the working class, and that may not have been the case 20 years ago as it is today.”
Congressman Gill’s parting advice was for the young people in the audience to focus on marrying and having a family: “Start a family young. Have kids. It really has been the greatest thing in my life”. His story as someone who rose to prominence by seeking to give conservatives a voice on an overwhelmingly liberal campus is one that certainly resonates with us at The Right Angle, which has recently become a sister publication to Gill’s Dartmouth Review as part of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute’s Collegiate Network.
