WI-born veteran, congressman calls out Van Orden for Trump support

Colorado Rep. Jason Crow says fellow veteran and Rep. Derrick Van Orden failed veterans and the President’s new war with Iran isn’t what Wisconsinites want.

[Editor’s Note: Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colorado) visited Eau Claire days before the Trump administration launched an attack on Iran. This story includes comments from Crow and Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Prairie du Chien) since the attack began.]

A Colorado congressman who was born and raised in Wisconsin returned to his home state to tell veterans and other voters why an Army Ranger like him is campaigning to unseat a Navy Seal like his colleague, Rep. Derrick Van Orden. 

Before President Donald Trump attacked Iran alongside Israel, Rep. Jason Crow told an Eau Claire audience about his US Army deployments that took him to Iraq and Afghanistan. After separating from the military, he used his legal training to help veterans secure their benefits and was elected to Congress in 2018 to serve Colorado. Van Orden served in the US Navy for 26 years including five combat deployments. Both men now serve on the House Armed Services Committee.

His remarks were largely focused on Van Orden’s support for Trump’s tariffs that have raised consumer prices for voters in the 3rd Congressional District. However he also touched on the lawmaker’s broken promises to veterans.

Crow criticized Van Orden for his close ties to President Donald Trump, who Crow says has fired and hurt more veterans “than any other president in history.”

“There is a sacred promise that we make to our veterans and to our military families,” Crow told UpNorthNews during an event at the Chippewa Valley Museum. “If you raise your right hand and that oath, that you’re willing to give your life for this country, our nation will stand by you. And I just will not tolerate people that slash the VA budget. They are gutting the VA. They’re cutting back on veterans benefits.”

Van Orden, a former Seal, supported Trump’s budget adjustment bill last year that made massive cuts to programs in order to fund tax cuts for wealthy households and corporations. The legislation is projected to increase healthcare costs for more than 300,000 veterans and their families. Another 267,000 could lose their Medicaid coverage, putting more pressure on an already-stressed Veterans Administration healthcare system.

“Listen, talk is cheap, right?” Crow said of veterans in elected office. “We got to bring money to our veterans. We got to fulfill our promise.”

Crow said Van Orden also passed up a chance to help homeless veterans when Republicans in the Legislature defunded a program that led to the closure of a facility in Chippewa Falls. 

“There was actually a veterans home that was essential to this community,” Crow said. “Derrick Van Orden had the ability to apply for federal funds to keep that home open, and he refused to do it.”

Crow said veterans in Wisconsin should also take note of how Trump targeted him and five other veterans in Congress who reminded active duty personnel of their duty to not carry out illegal orders.

“You have to follow the law,” Crow said, “which, you know, should come as no surprise to a military person. You learn this in boot camp. This is basic military stuff. The president didn’t like it. He accused us of treason. He threatened to have us hung. He actually tried to throw me and the others in prison, tried to indict us before our grand jury. They failed. They’re always going to fail. I’m not going to back down from my duty and my obligation.” 

Crow ratcheted up his criticism of Trump after his attack on Iran without seeking authorization from Congress after his Eau Claire trip.

“I’m just damn furious,” Crow told CNN. “The man’s a five-time draft dodger. He’s an elite. I went to war and fought with working class kids. This president has apparently learned nothing from the 20-plus years of war; the trillions of dollars that Americans, mainly the working class, spent; the thousands of working class kids’ lives. I am for the wise use of American power, but I don’t see at all that this is what Americans want.”

Van Orden, meanwhile, posted 35 times on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, hurling insults, telling one retired general to “STFU,” and contending Trump is in compliance with the War Powers Act, written in the wake of the Vietnam War to prevent future presidential acts of war without oversight from Congress. The continuous keyboard commentary gave Van Orden more than 600 tweets for the month of February.

“Listen, people understand what’s going on,” Crow said. “I don’t need to tell people what they’re struggling with, right? They can’t afford health care. They can’t afford homes. Tariffs have devastated Wisconsin. The soybean farmers here have just been crushed. Big corporations, the corporate elite in this country, the folks who are building up Donald Trump, they can afford to do this. They’re sitting on stockpiles of cash and banks, but family owned businesses, family farms, small businesses, they’re just being devastated by this. And enough is enough.”

While Crow was in Eau Claire promoting Democrats in general against Van Orden, he has posted an online endorsement previously of Rebecca Cooke, who is competing with Emily Berge in the August Democratic primary to determine who will challenge Van Orden in November.