Democrat Rebecca Cooke, who is running against Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) in Wisconsin‘s 3rd Congressional District, criticized the GOP freshman for swearing at teenage Senate pages, using the incident as an opportunity to fundraise for her campaign.
“I’m Becca Cooke, the Democrat running to beat Derrick Van Orden,” Cooke said on Friday. “He’s the MAGA weirdo who just cussed out a bunch of kids in the Capitol rotunda.”
SENATE DEMOCRATS CELEBRATE MEDICARE ANNIVERSARY WITH ATTACKS ON REPUBLICANS
Hi ? I’m Becca Cooke, the Democrat running to beat Derrick Van Orden. He’s the MAGA weirdo who just cussed out a bunch of kids in the Capitol rotunda ?
It’s time for Derrick to go, and I’m the normal, homegrown #WI03 leader who can beat him.
Join us: https://t.co/DzUikvcGnd pic.twitter.com/d2xDXkw2DJ
— Rebecca Cooke (@RebeccaforWI) July 28, 2023
“We should be encouraging youth engagement in our democratic process, not using vulgar language towards them,” Cooke said in a statement obtained by the Washington Examiner. “Derrick Van Orden is an embarrassment who clearly lacks the temperament to represent Wisconsin and our values.”
Van Orden yelled and cursed at Senate pages while giving an evening tour of the Capitol on Wednesday. One of the pages, who are typically high school-aged and help in the Senate by delivering correspondence and legislative materials, wrote a transcript of the incident shortly after it transpired after midnight.
According to the transcript, the freshman representative called the pages “lazy s***s” and told them to “get the f*** up” off the Capitol Rotunda, where they were lying down and taking photos. The transcript was obtained by the Hill after Punchbowl News first reported the interaction.
Van Orden defended himself to the Washington Examiner on Thursday evening, noting the Capitol Rotunda was used as a hospital for soldiers during the Civil War.
“I have long said our nation’s Capitol is a symbol of the sacrifice our servicemen and women have made for this country and should never be treated like a frat house common room,” Van Orden said.
Cooke announced her bid to unseat Van Orden this month.
“While attempting to clean up his latest mess, he had the nerve to compare students commemorating their summer of service to a frat house,” Cooke said. “Where was his concern for history on January 6th when he and his MAGA buddies besieged the Capitol, resulting in 140+ injuries to police officers and deaths?”
“Van Orden’s hypocrisy knows no bounds. The serial harasser is truly the last person to lecture on decorum and belongs nowhere near the halls of Congress,” Cooke said.
Cooke was the first Democrat to enter the race against Van Orden, finishing 8 points behind state Sen. Brad Pfaff in a four-way primary in 2022. Van Orden, a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump, succeeded Democrat Ron Kind, who retired after holding the Wisconsin seat for over 24 years.
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Multiple GOP members have spoken out against the Wisconsin representative following the events, with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) telling reporters he plans to talk to Van Orden.
Senate leaders Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) gave remarks about the incident, with Schumer saying he was “shocked at his refusal to apologize to these young people.”
