Topline
Republican Wisconsin U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden reportedly cursed at high school Senate pages late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning after seeing the teenagers on the floor of the rotunda in the Capitol, and appeared to double down Thursday by suggesting the teens were somehow desecrating the Capitol by treating it like a “frat house.”
Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wisc., leaves a meeting of the House Republican Conference at the Capitol … [+]
Key Facts
Van Orden called the pages “lazy s****” and told them to “get the f*** up” as they were lying on the floor of the Rotunda and taking pictures of the building’s dome, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported, citing Punchbowl News.
Van Orden also called the pages “jackasses,” “pieces of s—,” and told them he didn’t “give a f***” who” they were, according to a transcript of the incident obtained by The Hill.
In a statement, Van Orden didn’t deny cursing at the teenagers and said “the Capitol Rotunda served as a field hospital where countless Union soldiers died fighting to free men in the Civil War … and should never be treated like a frat house common room.”
Senate pages are 16- or 17-year-olds juniors in high school who are interested in the legislative process and sponsored by a senator from their state, according to the program’s website.
Chief Critic
Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wisc.) tweeted: “Wonder if he told that to his fellow insurrectionists, who were beating police officers on the same ground?” Van Orden was at former President Donald Trump’s rally on January 6, 2021 and joined in a march toward the Capitol, but said he never entered the building. In an interview shortly after the insurrection, he said he went to be part of a peaceful protest and was “distraught” with what it turned into.
Key Background
This incident isn’t the first time Van Orden has expressed anger at a page. In June 2021, Van Orden reportedly entered a Wisconsin library and complained about a display featuring books about homosexuality in the children’s section that was part of the library’s Pride Month display, the Associated Press reported. The page Van Orden asked about the display said he was angry and that taxpayers shouldn’t have to see the books. Van Orden has faced other scandals, too. When running for office, he faced criticism over his 2015 book in which he wrote about a time when he exposed a male lieutenant’s genitalia to two young female officers. Van Ordern later said he was instructing officers in medical treatment in the situation described. His opponent, incumbent Ron Kind said the “sexual harassment detailed in his book is not something to brag about,” adding it was “outrageous and wrong,” the La Crosse Tribune reported.
Further Reading
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2023/07/27/get-the-f–out-wisconsin-congressman-curses-out-high-school-pages-in-capitol-reports-say/