A member of Wisconsin’s congressional delegation wants a colleague to release video footage of a third House member behaving badly. Democrat Mark Pocan sent a lengthy letter to Janesville Republican Brian Steil, who chairs the House Administration Committee, regarding the allegations against Republican Derrick Van Orden.
I wrote a letter to @RepBryanSteil, Chair of @HouseAdmin, to release the footage of an irate @RepVanOrden screaming at high school-aged Senate pages to ensure greater transparency regarding this incident. pic.twitter.com/EwDvnc8RWt
— Rep. Mark Pocan (@RepMarkPocan) August 1, 2023
In the letter, Pocan says if it’s true that Van Orden acted in a physically aggressive way and screamed inches away from high school pages in the Capitol rotunda last week are true, it calls into question Van Orden’s fitness for office.
Van Orden has admitted to the expletive filled tirade aimed at the Senate pages, but said he was defending the sanctity of the Capitol. The youths were laying om their backs taking pictures of the rotunda at the end of their last day as pages. Van Orden declined to apologize despite a rebuke from Senate leadership.
As chair of the Administration Committee, Steil has jurisdiction over things like house security and daily operations. He did not immediately respond to requests for comment from WisPolitics.