Residents protest outside Van Orden’s office

La Crosse residents demonstrated outside Congressman Derrick Van Orden’s office Thursday, voicing opposition to former President Trump’s spending bill and challenging the Republican representative’s claims about healthcare funding. Demonstrators accused Van Orden of misleading constituents about the bill’s impact on BadgerCare, Wisconsin’s Medicaid program. Saying Van Orden’s assertion that the legislation would secure billions for BadgerCare was false and warned that proposed Medicare cuts would harm thousands of Wisconsin residents. The protest highlighted growing tensions over healthcare policy as residents expressed concerns about potential cuts to federal programs that provide medical coverage and support services to vulnerable populations across the state. Van Orden responded to the demonstration by defending the spending legislation and disputing protesters’ characterizations of its impact on healthcare programs. “The Democrats just don’t want to admit that Republicans saved BadgerCare,” Van Orden said. “The one big beautiful bill allowed Wisconsin to have a 6% provider tax rate, giving 1 billion additional dollars to BadgerCare. There is also a $500 million dollar plus up for rural healthcare.”