‘Wake the f*** up you little s****’: Speaker plans to chat with Republican congressman caught yelling at interns lying on the floor to take photos – after his office was littered with bottles of liquor
‘Wake the f*** up you little s****’: Speaker plans to chat with Republican congressman caught yelling at interns lying on the floor to take photos – after his office was littered with bottles of liquor
- McCarthy defended Derrick Van Orden, telling reporters ‘that’s not Derrick Van Orden’s norm’ and added that he thought the incident was a ‘misunderstanding’
- In the early hours of Thursday morning, Orden reportedly came across a group of Senate pages lying on the floor of the Capitol Rotunda.
- Orden called the 16- and 17-year-olds “jacka**es” and “pieces of s**t” for laying on the floor to take a picture
Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he planned to speak with Rep. Derrick Van Orden after the Republican member reportedly drank in his office and then cursed at teenage interns in the Capitol.
Still, the speaker defended the Wisconsinite, telling reporters “that’s not Derrick Van Orden’s standard” and adding that he thought the incident was a “misunderstanding.”
McCarthy said that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had spoken to him about the incident in which Representative Derrick Van Orden yelled at a group of Senate Pageants — high school interns who assist Senate operations.
In the early hours of Thursday morning, Van Orden reportedly stumbled upon a group of Senate pages lying on the floor of the Capitol rotunda to take a photo of the chamber’s ornate domed ceiling.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he planned to speak with Rep. Derrick Van Orden after the Republican member allegedly drank in his office and then cursed at teenage interns at the Capitol
Photo of the ceiling of the Capitol rotunda
According to a transcript obtained by The Hill that wrote down a page shortly after the incident, Van Orden called the 16- and 17-year-olds “jacka**es” and “pieces of s**t.”
“Make the f‑‑‑up you little s‑‑‑‑. … What the f‑‑‑ are you all doing? Take the f‑‑‑ out of here. You’re polluting the space you have (pieces of s‑‑‑),” Van Orden said, according to the page’s account.
‘Who are you?’ asked Van Orden, to which one person replied that they were Senate pages. “I don’t care who you are, go away.”
“You bastards, get out,” he added.
The incident occurred shortly after midnight.
Van Orden did not dispute the bill — nor did he apologize for it.
“The Capitol Rotunda served as a field hospital where countless Union soldiers died fighting to liberate men in the Civil War. I have long said that our country’s Capitol is a symbol of the sacrifice our military and women have made for this country and that it should never be treated like a dorm or common room,” he said in a statement.
Threatening a congressman with bad press to excuse bad behavior is a reminder of all that is wrong with Washington. Fortunately I’ve never had bad press and if it’s the price I pay to stand up for the good, then so be it.’
After the statement came out, Punchbowl News obtained a photo of Van Orden’s office showing the remains of a night of drinking: wine bottles on the table and cans in the trash.
Anna Kelly, Van Orden’s director of communications, said on Twitter that the congressman and ex-Navy SEAL had organized a Wisconsin “beer and cheese tour” with voters.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a former chief of staff to Senator Ted Cruz, poked fun at the incident on Twitter.
Schumer said he was “appalled” by Orden’s refusal to apologise. Republican leader Mitch McConnell “everyone on this side of the aisle feels exactly the same.”
Van Orden dismissed the criticism of the incident. “The people who brought this up are not serious people. Let’s stop pretending they are,” he said during a radio appearance.