Scalise critical after emergency surgery
La. rep praised by colleagues
U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, who was in critical condition last night following emergency surgery to treat a gunshot wound to his hip, is an avid baseball fan who colleagues joked will be disappointed that his injuries will keep him from playing in tonight’s Congressional Baseball Game.
“Knowing Steve Scalise as we all do, he is likely really frustrated that he will not be able to play in the baseball game,” House Speaker Paul Ryan said yesterday as the Louisiana congressman and House majority whip was recovering at MedStar Washington Hospital Center. Scalise and three others were shot at a practice in Alexandria, Va.
Scalise, 51, a married father of two daughters, has served in Congress since 2008 and represents Louisiana’s 1st Congressional District, which includes some New Orleans suburbs and bayou parishes. Before arriving in D.C., he spent more than a decade serving in both the Louisiana state House and Senate.
“Prior to entering surgery, the whip was in good spirits and spoke to his wife by phone,” Scalise’s office said yesterday in a statement. “He is grateful for the brave actions of U.S. Capitol Police, first responders and colleagues.”
Scalise served as chairman of the Republican Study Committee before becoming whip following the surprise defeat of former Majority Leader Eric Cantor in a GOP primary. The majority whip serves as a party’s chief vote-counter when they control the House of Representatives.
The hospital said he was still in critical condition last night.
Scalise, a big baseball buff, distributed commemorative bats to fellow House members when he ran for the leadership post in 2014.
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.
Scalise has forged a close relationship with President Trump, working together on the House health care bill and a pending effort to overhaul the tax code.
In remarks from the White House yesterday, Trump called Scalise “a very good friend” and said, “He’s a patriot, and he’s a fighter.”
During his time serving the people of Louisiana, his signature legislation, included a film industry tax credit program aimed at helping the Pelican State become “Hollywood South” and a constitutional amendment outlawing gay marriage.
One of his closest friends remains U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond, a New Orleans Democrat who leads the Congressional Black Caucus and befriended Scalise when the two were both in the State House.
U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham (R-La.) described Scalise as a great leader who is the go-to person for the state’s congressional delegation, saying: “Any time we need anything, we go to Steve and he makes it happen.”