Wisconsin Republican Congressman Derrick Van Orden is facing bipartisan condemnation after he hurled a profane insult at a group of teenagers on the Senate floor Wednesday night. The rookie congressman does not dispute his account and defended his words, which some reports suggest may have been influenced by alcohol.
The pages are young people aged 16 and 17 — 30 per term — who facilitate the functions of the Senate by sending messages, carrying legislative documents and preparing the chamber for activity. Although not in the service of the Capitol, the pages lives in the Daniel Webster Senate Page residence, which is also home to the Senate Page School.
When the Senate burns the midnight oil, the pages usually take breaks in the rotunda of the Capitol. That was the case on Wednesday, when the Senate took up amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act. A Reuters says the correspondent pages were on the ground taking photos of the roundabout.
That apparently turned Van Orden off, according to a transcript the Pages say they wrote immediately after the confrontation:
“Wake up you little shit… What the hell are you all doing? Get the hell out of here. You are polluting the space [pieces of s‑‑‑]. Who the hell are you?”
After one page explained his role, Van Orden is said to have responded:
“I don’t give a shit who you are, get out. You morons, get out.”
Democrats and Republicans joined in condemning Van Orden. “I was shocked when I heard about it, and I’m still shocked by his refusal to apologize to these young people.” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. “I want to associate myself with the statements of the majority leader,” he said in Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. “Everybody on this side of the aisle feels exactly the same way.”
Grateful every day on our Senate pages! These amazing young people are a vital part of our democracy. pic.twitter.com/AauQ6Le2Sg
— Senator Cory Booker (@SenBooker) July 27, 2023
“Chuck Schumer should think twice before throwing rocks from glass houses,” Van Orden spokeswoman Anna Kelly said. said in a statement.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he had not yet had a chance to speak with Van Orden. “This is not your normal Van Orden,” he said Politician.
Maybe it was an alcohol-infused Van Orden: PunchBowl News, who first reported the incident, said Van Orden and his staff were heard partying loudly in their offices before their outrage. The outlet’s Max Cohen tweeted the photo, which he said showed a long line of alcohol bottles in the office that night:
According to a source, here’s a photo from last night of a lot of alcohol in Van Orden’s office. Van Orden and staff were heard partying loudly before cursing out a group of teenagers in the Senate pic.twitter.com/W6KF35nfWt
— Max Cohen (@maxpcohen) July 27, 2023
Responding to a query from the hillVan Orden defended his harsh treatment of high school students with a questionable comparison:
“The history of the Rotunda of the United States Capitol, which during the Civil War was used as a field hospital and countless Union soldiers died on this floor, and they died because they were fighting the Civil War to end slavery. And I think this place should be treated with great respect for the dead. If someone had drawn a series of graves in Arlington National Cemetery, what do you think people would say?
Van Orden is first term and the first Republican to represent Wisconsin’s 3rd congressional district 26 yearsafter defeating Democrat Brad Pfaff in an open seat contest by a margin of 51.8% to 48.1%. We’ll see what this incident does for his re-election bid.
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