Derrick Francis Van Orden (born September 15, 1969) is an American politician, businessman, actor, and retired United States Navy SEAL who is the U.S. representative for Wisconsin's 3rd congressional district. He is a member of the Republican Party.
In August 2023, Van Orden drew scrutiny for hurling profanities at several Senate pages who were resting in the Capitol rotunda during a late-night legislative session. In October 2023, colleagues described a "curse-laden outburst" from Van Orden directed at White House staffers and fellow representative Dean Phillips during a briefing on the 2023 Israel–Hamas war.
Early life
Van Orden was born in Minnesota. He and his wife, Sarah Jane, have four children and eight grandchildren. He is a Protestant. Van Orden holds a degree from Excelsior University, a private online university. Van Orden served in the United States Navy SEALs from 1988 to 2014.
U.S. House of Representatives
Van Orden was the Republican nominee for Wisconsin's 3rd congressional district in the 2020 election, narrowly losing to incumbent Democrat Ron Kind.
Van Orden was nominated to run for the seat again in the 2022 election, and won, defeating Democratic state Senator Brad Pfaff and flipping the district from Democrat to Republican for the first time since 1994.
During his first term, he received negative national media coverage for screaming profanities at Senate pages resting in the U.S. Capitol rotunda.
Controversies
January 6th
Van Orden participated in the January 6th "Stop the Steal" rally and was present at the United States Capitol during the January 6 United States Capitol attack.
LGBT library book incident
On June 17, 2021, Van Orden confronted a teenaged library page at Prairie du Chien Memorial Library in indignation over a display of books with LGBT themes assembled for Pride Month. Van Orden was particularly upset by the book A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo, about a fictional day in the life of Marlon Bundo, the real-life pet rabbit of former Vice President of the United States Mike Pence, and the rabbit's subsequent same-sex romance. Van Orden submitted a written complaint to the library that the book was "skewing young people to think that Republicans are not inclusive. This book is not informational, it is propaganda". A staff member described Van Orden as "very uncomfortable, threatening" with "full-on shouting" and "aggressively shoving the books around". He wanted to know who had established the display so he could "teach them a lesson". Van Orden subsequently withdrew all the books on display out of the library and then returned them within a week.
Gun arrest
On August 27, 2021, Van Orden was arrested at the Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, after attempting to carry a fully-loaded SIG Sauer handgun through a security checkpoint. He initially pleaded not guilty, but later waived his rights and pleaded guilty. The court ordered Van Orden to pay fines and complete a gun safety program. He was placed on one year's probation on December 28, 2021.
Yelling at Senate pages
According to Punchbowl News, Van Orden was giving a tour for several dozen visitors around midnight on the evening of July 26, 2023, when he happened upon Senate pages (who are all 16 or 17 years old), lying on the floor of the rotunda, taking photos of the interior of the Capitol dome; NBC News later reported that this is a traditional activity for the pages to commemorate their last week of service. Punchbowl News also reported that the pages are directed to sit in the rotunda awaiting instructions while the Senate is in late-night session, as it was that night. Van Orden "cursed out the pages...calling them 'lazy shits' and told them to 'get the fuck up' off the floor" and reportedly screamed at them "inches from the pages' faces," and then said, "I don’t give a f---who you are. I’m a congressman."
It was later reported that Van Orden had been partying loudly at an event in his office where alcohol was being served, prior to yelling at the pages, and several news outlets reported that he had bottles of alcohol on desks and in trash cans in his office earlier that evening as part of a party with 50 constituents. His communications director, Anna Kelly, told The Washington Post that Van Orden "regularly hosts beer and cheese tours with constituents."