Derrick Van Orden threatens to refer a former government worker to DOGE for asking questions [UPDATED]

(EDITOR’S NOTE (3/4): This article has been updated to include the response from U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden.)

U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) reportedly threatened a former Department of Veterans Affairs worker for asking a question during work hours in an exchange on LinkedIn over the weekend.

WKOW 27 News reporter JT Cestkowski reported the exchange on X, posting a screenshot of Van Orden’s LinkedIn message to former VA worker Tony Ruiz. In the message, Van Orden was allegedly responding to a question proposed by Ruiz, who was contacting the representative to help stop the firing of probationary government workers like himself.

Van Orden responded by telling the worker he would “be referring you to DOGE [Department of Government Efficiency] as it seems that at 13:46 on a Monday you should have been working for veterans, not posting trach about your boss, President Trump.”

NEW: In a Saturday morning message on LinkedIn, WI GOP Rep. Derrick Van Orden threatened retaliation against a former VA employee for messaging the congressman about federal government cuts during normal business hours. pic.twitter.com/HT4uGwMYjG

— JT Cestkowski (@JTCestkowski) March 2, 2025

Ruiz, a disabled Army veteran who processed veterans service claims, was fired on Feb. 13 — two weeks before the end of his probationary period, according to the Washington Examiner. The federal government said he was fired for job performance, despite recently being awarded the employee of the quarter award.

Van Orden responded to a media inquiry from Heartland Signal by highlighting the large backlogs the VA currently has; there are over 249,159 pending cases that need a rating from the department, with an average wait of 117.6 days for the Los Angeles regional office, according to VA reports released on Monday. The representative said that the thousands of different backlogged cases the department has demonstrates “why VA employees should be processing claims at work instead of spending time on social media.”

“The only priority of the Veterans Administration is to take care of the men and women who sacrificed their lives for our nation. Anything else is adding to the problem,” Van Orden said. “I have no say in the employment status of any individual in the executive branch, but through my work on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, I will ensure those who have put politics before service are held accountable.”

Van Orden has been a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump’s actions in his second term, including using U.S. troops in Gaza, blocking aid to Ukraine and removing oversight for DOGE’s efforts to obtain private data. Van Orden has received backlash from constituents, causing his office to cancel several events in Wisconsin in recent days. Van Orden responded by blaming outside groups for infiltrating his events.

“There is a George Soros-funded group of agitators that have gone to multiple Republican congressional offices around the country as of late and they’re just disrupting proceedings so you can’t actually talk to your constituents,” Van Orden said. “I don’t represent George Soros. If any of these people want to come and crash our party, we’re just not going to tolerate it.”

The La Crosse and Vernon County Democratic Party, which are in Van Orden’s district, organized a demonstration outside of a brewery last Friday, where the congressman was scheduled to have a private meeting.

“Derrick Van Orden is just as much our congressperson as he is people who are members of that group. To host open and public listening sessions, we have to do things like this,” William Garcia, chair of the La Crosse County Democratic Party, told the La Crosse Tribune. “It’s not even about Republican and Democrat. It’s about listening to your constituents.”