Congressman Van Orden opposes SNAP cuts after voting for Republican budget blueprint

by Henry Redman, Wisconsin Examiner
May 6, 2025

U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Prairie du Chien) has said he’s opposed to Republican efforts to make changes to the federal government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), more commonly known as food stamps, even though he voted for the Republican-authored federal budget blueprint that calls for more than $200 billion in cuts to programs including SNAP. 

Despite voting for the budget blueprint, earlier this week Van Orden co-sponsored legislation that states he’s against a budget bill that would reduce Medicaid and SNAP benefits. 

Republicans in the House of Representatives have been searching for $230 billion in budget cuts for their budget reconciliation bill — which also includes a permanent extension of President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cuts. Progress on the bill has stalled as some Republicans have objected to the cuts to popular programs in the blueprint. 

Van Orden sits on the House Agriculture Committee, which oversees SNAP. The committee has been considering a proposal that would, for the first time, pass some of the cost of operating the program on to the states while also adding work requirements and implementing methods to limit future increases to benefits. 

Last week, Van Orden walked out of a Republican House Agriculture briefing and yelled an insult at staff, according to Politico. The outlet also reported he raised concerns that the SNAP changes unfairly penalized Wisconsin during a meeting of House Republicans. 

Democrats said that if Van Orden were really against the cuts, he wouldn’t have voted for the budget blueprint. 

“If Derrick Van Orden really wanted to save Medicaid and SNAP, he should have voted ‘NO’ on the Republican budget that cuts both,” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Spokesperson Justin Chermol said in a statement, He signaled that Democrats will use the blueprint vote against Van Orden in the 2026 election.

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