Kevin McCarthy, Steve Scalise, and Elise Stefanik have all lined up to support Derrick Van Orden even following reports on his attendance at the 1/6 Insurrection
Over the weekend, a bombshell investigative report revealed that failed candidate Derrick Van Orden “joined ‘stop the steal’ rioters on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol” during the deadly January 6 insurrection — after previously trying to cover it up.
But even Van Orden’s extreme record of “attend[ing] the Capitol riot” and “pushing Mr. Trump’s baseless claims that he was robbed of re-election” hasn’t stopped the highest ranking House Republican leaders including Kevin McCarthy, Steve Scalise, and Elise Stefanik from lining up behind the far-right extremist.
And Van Orden didn’t just participate in a violent attack on our Democracy — he also footed the bill for the trip on his campaign’s dime, a move which has raised concern among multiple nonpartisan watchdog groups.
When pressed by local outlets on the damaging report, Van Orden was fresh out of excuses as he “refus[ed] to go into more detail” and “didn’t return a request for comment.”
“Derrick Van Orden not only participated in a deadly assault on our Democracy, he also tried to cover it up and lied about his involvement to Wisconsinites. It’s far past time for Kevin McCarthy and House Republican Leadership to pull their support for insurrectionist Derrick Van Orden,” said DCCC spokesperson Elena Kuhn.
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