Derrick Francis Van Orden (born September 15, 1969) is an American politician, businessman, actor, and retired United States Navy SEAL who is the U.S. representative for Wisconsin’s 3rd congressional district.^[1] He is a member of the Republican Party.

Van Orden was born in Minnesota on September 15, 1969.^[2][3] He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Excelsior University.^[4]

Van Orden joined the United States Navy 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.^[5]

He served for 26 years, retiring as a Senior Chief in 2014.^[6][7] During his military career, Van Orden served five combat deployments.^[6]

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^[8] and Running with the Devil (2019).^{[citation needed]}

In 2015, Van Orden’s A Book of Man: A Navy SEAL’s Guide to the Lost Art of Manhood was published.^[9]

From 2017 to early 2019, Van Orden and his wife operated the Butternut Café^[10] in the Village of Butternut in northern Wisconsin.

On June 17, 2021, Van Orden confronted a teenage library page at Prairie du Chien Memorial Library about a display of books with LGBT themes assembled for Pride Month.^[11] 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”.^[12] 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”.^[11]

Van Orden was the Republican nominee for Wisconsin’s 3rd congressional district in the 2020 election, losing to incumbent Democrat Ron Kind by a margin of about three percentage points.^[13]

Then President Donald Trump endorsed Van Orden’s 2020 campaign.^[14]

Van Orden attended the January 6th “Stop the Steal” rally^[15] and was present at the United States Capitol during the January 6 United States Capitol attack.^[16][17]

Van Orden was the Republican nominee for Wisconsin’s 3rd congressional district in the 2022 election. 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.^[18][19] Former President Donald Trump endorsed Van Orden’s 2022 campaign.^[14]

Van Orden defeated Democratic state senator Brad Pfaff in the general election.^[18]

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.^[20]

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).^[21][22] Van Orden allegedly swore at the pages and told them to get off the floor.^[22][23] 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.”^[22]

Van Orden allegedly had an outburst during a White House briefing on the 2023 Israel–Hamas war.^[24]

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.^[25]

He has supported the U.S. House speakerships of Mike Johnson and Kevin McCarthy, which has led him to fight with more conservative Republicans opposing their nominations.^[26]

• 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

• 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

Van Orden and his wife, Sara Jane, have four children and eight grandchildren.^{[citation needed]} He is a Protestant.^[27][28] In August 2023, Van Orden’s oldest daughter, Sydney Marie Martenis, died of cancer.^[29]

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.^[30][31]

• Congressman Derrick Van Orden official U.S. House website
• Derrick Van Orden for Congress campaign website
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Derrick Van Orden at IMDb