MADISON, Wis. — Derrick Van Orden’s legendarily poor temperament made another appearance this week, with reports that Van Orden launched a “belligerent” and “curse-laden” tirade at White House officials during a briefing on the Israel terrorist attack.
Van Orden’s most recent rage-fueled outburst comes just weeks after he made national headlines for cursing at teenage Senate pages during a late-night tour of the Capitol, calling the teenagers who were resting in the Capitol Rotunda dome “lazy sh—” and ordering them to “get the f— up” off the floor. Making matters worse, Van Orden reportedly bowed to his tour group after screaming at the teenagers. This was not the first time Van Orden has fought with teenagers, having previously berated a 17-year-old library volunteer over an LGBTQ+ book display in 2021.
POLITICO: Democrats furious over Van Orden outburst during White House briefing on Israel terrorist attack
Democrats are furious at GOP Rep. Derrick Van Orden for a curse-laden outburst that interrupted a White House briefing on the Israel terrorist attack.
Multiple attendees described Van Orden (R-Wis.) as acting belligerent towards the Biden administration briefers when he asked questions. Several people said Van Orden cursed directly at the briefers, prompting loud boos in the room. One person in the room said Van Orden shouted that the briefers’ presentation was “pathetic.” Another attendee described it as “offensive and inappropriate.”
One member, Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), shouted “shame on you” in response to Van Orden’s verbal affront — prompting Van Orden to drop an f-bomb toward the Minnesota Democrat, who is Jewish.
“He was rude and attacked the presenters. I thought they had very substantive things to say. But he just had this blanket attack saying that ‘this is the worst information I’ve ever had,’” said Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.). “And basically attacking them for being incompetent.”
Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) followed Van Orden in the briefing, then apologized for his colleague’s conduct, telling the briefers, “I apologize for this guy,” the attendees said.
The incident was a topic of conversation in the closed-door House Democratic caucus meeting following the briefing too, as lawmakers on the left recounted the incident (and tried to identify Van Orden).
Van Orden’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Senate leaders in both parties spoke out against his behavior toward their chamber’s pages in July, when Van Orden used profanity toward a group of the young people.
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