ROTHSCHILD — U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, called for unity among Republicans and to “put aside our petty squabbles, or we will lose.”
Van Orden praised the party for securing the White House in November and kicking out “that 25-year-old intern that’s been running our White House for the last four years.”
But he said Republicans “got our asses kicked” in April as Brad Schimel lost the state Supreme Court election to Justice-elect Susan Crawford.
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“You know why? Because we didn’t vote. We didn’t vote because we were squabbling amongst ourselves,” Van Orden said.
He noted conflicts between the party and conservative groups like Turning Point Action and Americans for Prosperity.
“These are all great people, we’re all great Americans,” Van Orden said.
Van Orden called for Republicans to band together to pass a GOP reconciliation bill to advance President Donald Trump’s priorities. He noted Trump’s recent TruthSocial post criticizing GOP grandstanders who say the measure doesn’t go far enough.
U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, has called for opposition to the bill, and spoke against it at the convention.
