He is a 33rd-degree Freemason, past officer of the Sons of the American Revolution, and is an active member of the Society of the Cincinnati and various state and county historical organizations.
The Chicago Tribune reported "In the opinion of several White House insiders, the youngest and least publicized of the President's top assistants is probably the one most responsible for Nixon's strategy, tactics and successes in dealing with a Democratic-controlled Congress.
[10] According to Rowland Evans Jr. and Robert D. Novak, neither Nixon nor John Mitchell had full confidence in Timmons' ability to handle Congress.
[11] The Strom Thurmond memo of February 7, 1972, recommending deportation of John Lennon, was addressed to Timmons in his role as assistant to President Nixon.
[12] The attached file from the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee associated Lennon with the Chicago Seven and noted that "This group has been strong advocates of the program to 'dump Nixon'.
[14] The Nixon administration's failed attempt to deport Lennon before the 1972 US presidential election campaign season[13][15] was illustrated by these memos, which were published in facsimile in 1975 and 2000.
"[17] During the Watergate Scandal, after the October 1973 "Saturday night massacre" in which Nixon fired Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus and ordered Robert Bork to remove Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox, Nixon asked Timmons to assess the reaction of Congress.
"[18] As Nixon was struggling to remain in office, in early 1974, Timmons advised him to take advantage of the budget process "when there is strong congressional interest in pork projects.
(After lunch, Timmons would speak to General Alexander Haig in San Clemente and ask that this advice be brought, in his name, immediately to the President.
During the last week of the congressional campaign in Los Angeles, Timmons arranged two secret meetings between Ford and Reagan, and the relationship between the two men became warmer.
With James Baker, on the Legislative Strategy Group, he worked on lobbying for public and congressional support for the president's domestic and economic policies.
The Wall Street Journal reported "Three years ago William Timmons was already one of the savviest, best-connected Republican lobbyists that American blue-chip companies could hire.
Time Magazine reported that the lobbyists were able to "kill" the bill, which stalled in Senator Abraham Ribicoff's Governmental Affairs Committee.
[37] Time Magazine reported that Timmons's lobbying registrations "include work on a number of issues that have become flashpoints in the presidential campaign.