Congressman who was shot at ballpark is avid sports fan,
Rep. BATON ROUGE, LA. — Steve Scalise, a member of the House Republican leadership, is known for his love of baseball and the late-night meals he often serves his colleagues in his office near the Capitol’s ornate Statuary Hall.
Scalise, the No. 3 House Republican, was shot Wednesday along with several others during a GOP baseball practice in Alexandria, Va. He was in critical condition following surgery, the hospital said.
An avid sports fan, Scalise distributed commemorative baseball bats to fellow House members when he ran for the leadership post in 2014. The Louisiana conservative was elected majority whip, the job of chief Republican vote counter.
His campaign for the whip job had a Louisiana flair that included distribution of “Geaux Scalise” T-shirts and a Cajun dinner with sausage, oysters and gumbo.
A major supporter of the oil industry, Scalise also is known for hosting lawmakers on tours of offshore rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. One of his major legislative accomplishments was ensuring that penalties paid after the BP oil spill go to areas affected by the spill.
Scalise, 51, was first elected to the House in 2008 and served as chairman of the Republican Study Committee, a group of conservatives, before becoming whip in the leadership shuffle that followed the surprise defeat of then-Majority Leader Eric Cantor in a Republican primary.
In his whip campaign, he boasted about his conservative credentials and pointed out that he’d be the only GOP leader from the South, which had a major role in giving Republicans their largest House majority in decades.
At the time of the shooting, the lawmakers were preparing for an annual congressional game scheduled for tonight.
Scalise, who was shot in the hip, was transported to MedStar Washington and underwent surgery.
“Prior to entering surgery, the whip was in good spirits and spoke to his wife by phone. He is grateful for the brave actions of U.S. Capitol Police, first responders and colleagues,” his office said in a statement.
Scalise has forged a close relationship with President Donald Trump, working with him on the House health care bill and a pending effort to overhaul the tax code.
Trump, in remarks from the White House, called Scalise “a very good friend” and said, “He’s a patriot, and he’s a fighter. He will recover from this assault.”
As the No. 3 House Republican, Scalise has a security detail assigned to him at all times. Lawmakers who were at the practice said the shootings could have been much worse if the security detail had not been there.