Derrick Van Orden

Derrick Francis Van Orden (born September 15, 1969) is an American politician, actor, and retired United States Navy SEAL who has served as the U.S. representative for Wisconsin's 3rd congressional district since 2023. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Early life, education, and military service Van Orden was born in Minnesota on September 15, 1969. His family lived in Hartland, Wis. and then moved to the Portland, Ore. area where his mother accepted a job with the Insurance Company of North America. As a youth, Van Orden lived in Lake Oswego, Ore., attending Lakeridge High School. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Excelsior University.

During his military career, Van Orden served five combat deployments. Van Orden's 26 years of active duty military service make him the longest serving enlisted member of the military in the history of Congress. 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.

Van Orden attended the January 6 "Stop the Steal" rally and was present at the United States Capitol during the January 6 United States Capitol attack.

A photo published on Facebook on January 6, 2021 shows Van Orden standing on a wall on the Capitol grounds that was inside a restricted area. Reporters for the Daily Beast "recreated the photo... and confirmed that Van Orden would have had to cross police barricades to reach that area." Van Orden also claimed in that interview "I don't break the law," 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, the real-life pet rabbit of former Vice President Mike Pence. 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".

President Donald Trump endorsed Van Orden's 2020 campaign. Former President Donald Trump endorsed Van Orden's 2022 campaign.

Van Orden defeated Democratic state senator Brad Pfaff in the general election.

2024

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

2026

In 2026, Van Orden again faces Democratic nomiee Rebecca Cooke for Wisconsin's 3rd congressional district. In August 2026, Van Orden drew criticism for posting AI-generated videos depicting Cooke making statements she had not made.

Tenure Van Orden serves on the House Committee on Agriculture, the House Armed Services Committee, 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 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 and Senator Thom Tillis, 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.

In February 2025, Van Orden filed a resolution to impeach U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer after the judge blocked Elon Musk'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.

Following the shootings of Minnesota legislators in June, Van Orden falsely linked the perpetrator to the anti-Trump No Kings protests, writing "Yesterday, a whole pack of election deniers got together and spewed hate. One of them decided to murder and attempt to murder some politicians that were not far Left enough for them." Van Orden responded to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz's statements mourning the shootings in posts calling Walz "stupid" and a "clown." He replied to criticism of his comments from fellow Wisconsin representative Mark Pocan, telling Pocan "It is statistically impossible that you could be dumb enough to believe what you are writing."

Van Orden voted in favor of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Van Orden celebrated passage of the Act by posting "YES!" on X in response to a post critical of the bill which stated "17 million people just lost health care. 18 million kids just lost school meals. 3 million Americans just lost food assistance. And $3.5 trillion was added to the deficit. All for a tax cut for Trump's billionaire donors." Van Orden later deleted the post. After voting to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Van Orden commented that he and other Republicans were "not a bunch of little bitches" for falling in line with President Trump's policies and self-imposed deadline.

In August 2026, Van Orden introduced legislation to overturn a Washington, D.C. law requiring all motorcyclists to wear helmets. He stated that he aims to repeal all helmet laws in the country.

Committee assignments

Committee on Veterans' Affairs Economic Opportunity Subcommittee, Chairman Committee on Agriculture Nutrition, Foreign Agriculture, and Horticulture Subcommittee Armed Services Strategic Forces Intelligence and Special Operations

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 Co-Chair

Personal life Van Orden and his wife, Sara Jane, live in Wisconsin. 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

U.S. House of Representatives (2020–present)

Publications

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