Derrick Van Orden can’t hide his ties to Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of the most extreme members of Congress. According to new reporting, Van Orden claims he rejected a contribution from Greene, but the reality is they are two peas in a pod.
No matter how hard he tries to hide it, Van Orden’s record of extremism is clear: he attended the “Stop the Steal” rally and was caught at the Capitol grounds on January 6th with his fellow insurrectionists.
Van Orden is also extreme on abortion rights, blocking consideration of the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would codify the reproductive freedoms Roe v. Wade, and voting for legislation that would punish doctors.
Earlier this year, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene contributed $2,000 apiece to 18 of her colleagues, many of whom face competitive re-election races in 2024.
But spokespeople for two of those vulnerable Republicans — Rep. Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin and Rep. Michelle Steel of California — now say that their campaigns didn’t end up cashing the checks.
Though the March 29 contributions appear in Greene’s campaign filings with the Federal Election Commission, they never appeared in Van Orden or Steel’s filings.
A spokesperson for Van Orden’s campaign told Insider that they “chose not to accept” Greene’s contribution, while a spokesperson for Steel’s campaign claims that the campaign lost the check “due to a staffing error.”
Greene’s campaign, which did not respond to Insider’s request for comment, has not amended its filings with the Federal Election Commission to reflect that the checks were never cashed.
It remains unclear why Van Orden — best known nationally for screaming at Senate pages and insisting that he did not actually step foot on Capitol grounds while attending the “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington on January 6 — would not accept Greene’s money. His campaign did not respond to a follow-up inquiry from Insider seeking further explanation.
But on Capitol Hill, Van Orden does appear to be quite friendly with Greene, filming a video with the congresswoman just days ago…
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