Derrick Francis Van Orden (born September 15, 1969) is an American politician, actor, and retired

United States Navy SEAL The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the United States Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the United States Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main funct ...

who is the U.S. representative for

Wisconsin's 3rd congressional district Wisconsin's 3rd congressional district covers most of the Driftless Area in southwestern and western Wisconsin. The district includes the cities of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Eau Claire, La Crosse, Wisconsin, La Crosse, and Stevens Point, Wisconsin, ...

. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Early life, education, and military service

Van Orden was born in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

on September 15, 1969. He holds a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree from Excelsior University. Van Orden joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

in 1988 when he was 18 years old. He received orders to Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training (BUD/S) at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado in 1992. After months of training, Van Orden graduated with BUD/S class 184 in October 1992. Van Orden received assignment to SEAL Team FOUR at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Virginia. Following advanced SEAL training and completion of a six-month probationary period, he received the Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC) 5326 as a Combatant Swimmer (SEAL), entitled to wear the

Special Warfare insignia The Special Warfare insignia, also known as the "SEAL Trident" or its popular nickname in the Navy community, "The Budweiser", recognizes those members of the United States Navy who have completed the Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) trai ...

. He served for 26 years, retiring as a Senior Chief in 2014. During his military career, Van Orden served five combat deployments.

Post-military career

Van Orden played the role of Senior Chief Otto Miller in the 2012 film '' Act of Valor''. He also had roles in the 2018 film '' Surviving the Wild'' and '' Running with the Devil'' (2019). From 2017 to early 2019, Van Orden and his wife operated the Butternut Café in the Village of Butternut in northern Wisconsin.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2020

Van Orden was the Republican nominee for

, losing to incumbent Democrat

Ron Kind Ronald James Kind (born March 16, 1963) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1997 to 2023. He is a member of the Democratic Party. His former district is in western Wisconsin, anchored by La Cross ...

by a margin of about three percentage points. President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

endorsed Van Orden's 2020 campaign.

2022

Van Orden was once again the Republican nominee for

. The seat was open following incumbent Democrat Ron Kind's decision not to run for re-election. Van Orden focused his 2022 campaign on his military service and the economy. Former President Donald Trump endorsed Van Orden's 2022 campaign. Van Orden defeated Democratic

state senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

Brad Pfaff in the general election.

2024

Van Orden was re-elected to a second term, garnering 51.4% of the vote and defeating Democratic nominee Rebecca Cooke.

Tenure

As of November 2023, Van Orden served on the House Committee on Agriculture, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Van Orden was giving a Capitol tour on the evening of July 26, 2023, when he happened upon Senate pages lying on the floor of the

United States Capitol rotunda The United States Capitol building features a central rotunda below the Capitol dome. Built between 1818 and 1824, the rotunda has been described as the Capitol's "symbolic and physical heart". The rotunda is connected by corridors leading so ...

taking photos of the interior of the Capitol dome (this is a traditional activity for the pages during their final week of service). Van Orden allegedly swore at the pages and told them to get off the floor. Van Orden's behavior was condemned by his fellow Republicans, including Senate Republican leader

Mitch McConnell Addison Mitchell McConnell III (; born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky, a seat he has held since 1985. McConnell is in his seventh Senate term and is the long ...

and Senator

Thom Tillis Thomas Roland Tillis ( ; born August 30, 1960) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from North Carolina, a seat he has held since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Tillis served in the North Carolina House ...

, who said, "This is inexcusable and embarrassing behavior for a member of Congress or any adult for that matter. The Congressman should do the right thing and apologize." During President Joe Biden's 2024 State of the Union address, Van Orden shouted "lies" after Biden criticized Donald Trump over Trump's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. He has supported the U.S. House speakerships of

Mike Johnson James Michael Johnson (born January 30, 1972) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 56th speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2023. A member ...

and

Kevin McCarthy Kevin Owen McCarthy (born January 26, 1965) is an American politician who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 55th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from January until he was Remova ...

, which has led him to fight with more conservative Republicans opposing their nominations. In February 2025, Van Orden filed a resolution to impeach U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer after the judge blocked

Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a businessman. He is known for his leadership of Tesla, SpaceX, X (formerly Twitter), and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk has been considered the wealthiest person in th ...

's team from accessing sensitive U.S. Treasury Department payment systems. The following month, Musk contributed the maximum allowable donation to Van Orden and other Republicans who supported the impeachment of federal judges who had ruled against the

Trump administration Presidency of Donald Trump may refer to: * First presidency of Donald Trump, the United States presidential administration from 2017 to 2021 * Second presidency of Donald Trump, the United States presidential administration since 2025 See also * ...

Political positions

2020 Presidential election

Van Orden attended the January 6th "Stop the Steal" rally and was present at the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...

during the

January 6 United States Capitol attack On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., was attacked by a mob of supporters of Donald Trump, President Donald Trump in an attempted self-coup,Multiple sources: * * * * * * * * * * * * * two months afte ...

Foreign policy

Israel

Van Orden allegedly had an outburst during a White House briefing on the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

LGBTQ+

On June 17, 2021, Van Orden confronted a teenage library

page Page most commonly refers to: * Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to: Roles * Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation * Page (servant), traditionally a young m ...

Prairie du Chien Prairie du Chien may refer to: Places *Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin Prairie du Chien ( ) is a city in Crawford County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 5,506 at the 2020 census. Often called Wisconsin's second- ...

Memorial Library about a display of books with

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

themes assembled for

Pride Month Pride Month, sometimes specified as LGBTQ Pride Month, is a List of month-long observances, month-long observance dedicated to the celebration of LGBTQ pride, commemorating the contributions of lesbian, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender a ...

. Van Orden was particularly upset by '' A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo'', a fictional book about the same-sex romance of

Marlon Bundo Marlon Bundo (2012/2013 – January 15, 2022), also known as Bunny of the United States (BOTUS), was a rabbit belonging to the family of Mike Pence, the 48th Vice President of the United States, vice president of the United States from 2017 to ...

, the real-life pet rabbit of former Vice President

Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...

. Van Orden submitted a written complaint to the library stating that the book was "skewing young people to think that Republicans are not inclusive. This book is not informational, it is propaganda". A staff member said that Van Orden was "aggressively shoving the books around", was shouting, and wanted to know who had established the display so he could "teach them a lesson".

Committee assignments

* Committee on Veterans' Affairs ** Economic Opportunity Subcommittee, Chairman * Committee on Agriculture ** Nutrition, Foreign Agriculture, and Horticulture Subcommittee * Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure ** Highway and Transit Subcommittee

Caucus memberships

* Congressional Border Security Caucus * Congressional Career and Technical Education Caucus * Congressional Biofuels Caucus * Congressional Bipartisan Wildfire Caucus * Congressional Pediatric and Adult Hydrocephalus Caucus * Congressional Motorcycle Caucus

Personal life

Van Orden and his wife, Sara Jane, live in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. They have four children and eleven grandchildren. He is a Protestant. In August 2023, Van Orden's oldest daughter, Sydney Marie Martenis, died of cancer. On August 27, 2021, Van Orden was cited at the Eastern Iowa Airport for having a loaded handgun in his bag at the security checkpoint. Van Orden called the incident "a mistake"; he paid a fine, completed a gun safety program, and was placed on one year's probation.

Electoral history

2020

2022

2024

Publications

Books

* ''A Book of Man: A Navy SEAL's Guide to the Lost Art of Manhood'', 2015. ().

References

External links

Congressman Derrick Van Orden
official U.S. House website
Derrick Van Orden for Congress
campaign website * * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Orden, Derrick 1969 births 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American restaurateurs Businesspeople from Wisconsin Christians from Wisconsin Living people Male actors from Wisconsin Military personnel from Wisconsin People from Crawford County, Wisconsin People from Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin Protesters in or near the January 6 United States Capitol attack Protestants from Wisconsin Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin United States Navy SEALs personnel Wisconsin Republicans Candidates in the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives