LA CROSSE, WI — A video from Tuesday night’s State of the Union shows Congressman Derrick Van Orden making repeated attempts to get President Trump’s attention as he passed through the House chamber. Trump didn’t stop.
It’s a fitting image. Van Orden has spent his time in Congress doing almost everything Trump has asked — voting for tariffs that raise costs for Wisconsin families, cutting food assistance for Wisconsin children and veterans, and supporting a budget that strips health care from Wisconsinites — and still couldn’t get a moment of the president’s time. During the State of the Union address Van Orden also cheered when Trump mentioned the millions of Americans who have been removed from food assistance, after previously saying he would not support cuts to benefits.
Van Orden voted for the Republican Tax Law that cuts Medicaid, slashes SNAP benefits, and raises costs for working families — all to fund tax breaks for billionaires. He admitted himself that the bill cuts food assistance for children. He has refused to hold open town halls to answer for any of it.
“Derrick Van Orden has spent his time in Congress voting for tariffs that raise grocery prices, cutting food assistance for Wisconsin children, and stripping health care from over 100,000 Wisconsinites — all to hand more tax breaks to billionaires,” said Opportunity Wisconsin Program Director Meghan Roh. “Tuesday night we saw him desperately trying to get Trump’s attention while his own constituents can’t even get a town hall. Wisconsin families deserve a congressman who fights for them, not one who fights for a photo op.”
