Van Orden Touts Trump Health Care Agenda At GOP Midterm Convention
Republican credits Trump for rural hospital funding as Democrats dispute his claims.
U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden
Wisconsin U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden touted President Donald Trump’s healthcare agenda during a speech at the Republican National Committee’s midterm convention.
Van Orden, who was among the first speakers at the event, credited Trump with helping him bring billions in new federal funding to Wisconsin hospitals, which Democrats deny.
The opening night of the two-day midterm convention in Dallas featured speaker after speaker hailing Trump’s accomplishments. They also vowed not to let Democrats make him a lame duck by flipping the GOP’s slim majorities in the U.S. House and Senate.
When he took the stage, Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, highlighted his career serving as a former combat medic, paramedic and Navy SEAL. He said it’s given him insight into the need for high quality “and actually affordable healthcare” in Wisconsin.
“You know who else knows this?” asked Van Orden. “Our great president Donald J. Trump. He is fighting to make quality healthcare a reality for everyday Americans, and that’s why President Trump and the Republicans secured $50 billion for a rural healthcare infrastructure transformation program.”
Van Orden said the funding included in the 2025 “Big Beautiful Bill Act” passed by Republicans and signed by Trump represents the “largest investment in rural healthcare in the history of our nation.”
Continuing on his healthcare theme, Van Orden said he worked personally with Trump and fellow House Republicans “to level up our Medicaid assessments and bringing billions of dollars back to Wisconsin’s BadgerCare program.”
“These investments have made a real difference to real people all over rural America, including back home at Black River Falls Memorial Hospital,” said Van Orden. “It’s where our awesome doctors can now spend less time worrying about the future of the hospital and more time taking care of their patients, who are their neighbors and that they love.”
Van Orden’s claim about Medicaid assessments has already been disputed by Democrats, including Gov. Tony Evers, who said the additional federal funding for BadgerCare was only possible because Republican and Democratic state lawmakers passed the current state budget before the federal spending bill was signed by Trump.
National Democrats have been targeting Van Orden’s 3rd Congressional District seat for more than a year and are backing Eau Claire Democrat Rebecca Cooke’s third attempt to take it. She came within 3 percentage points of defeating Van Orden in 2024, when he ran several points behind Trump in the district.
Minutes after he finished speaking in Texas Wednesday afternoon, national Democrats were already attacking him. A statement from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee accused him of “lying about his record gutting health care” because the 2025 bill he touts cut billions in Medicaid spending.
“Derrick Van Orden voted for the largest Medicaid cuts in history, stripping health care from millions and risking rural health services, he took cash from the health insurers and drug companies and sided with them to keep costs high – all to lower taxes for his special interest donors,” said DCCC spokesperson Katie Smith.
This is the first time the Republican Party has ever held a midterm convention, which serves as part rally and part fundraiser, with tickets selling for $20,000 or more. A number of Wisconsin Republicans made the trip, including state GOP Chair Brian Schimming, U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, and Michael Alfonso, the son-in-law of U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who is running for the state’s 7th Congressional District.
Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who is running for governor, said he wouldn’t make the convention because of prescheduled campaign events.
Throughout the first night of the GOP event it was clear the focus was really on Trump, who has seen his worst approval ratings on record in polling this year. One by one, Republicans hailed Trump’s accomplishments during his second term in the White House, with Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters describing Trump as “the best president this country has ever had.”
“Republicans deliver results, and if Democrats take even one chamber of Congress, the agenda stops,” said Greuters. “We’re sure as hell not going to let that happen!”
Other speakers accused Democrats and their candidates of being communists in favor of open border immigration policies, higher taxes and allowing boys to compete in girls’ school sports.
Van Orden focuses on healthcare, Trump at Republican midterm convention in Texas was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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