Who is Steve Scalise, House majority whip?
Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., was among those shot Wednesday morning while practicing for the annual congressional baseball game.
Five people were wounded in the shooting, including Scalise and two Capitol Police officers. President Donald Trump said in remarks Thursday that Scalise remains “in some trouble.” MedStar Washington Hospital Center, where Scalise is being treated, said in a statement Wednesday night that he is in critical condition after a gunshot wound to the hip and that he has undergone multiple surgeries.
Scalise is a nine-year veteran of Congress and currently serves as House majority whip, the third-highest-ranking member of the House and one charged with managing and tracking the Republican policy agenda. He was elected to that post in 2014.
A staunch conservative, Scalise has been active in party leadership going back to his time heading the powerful Republican Study Committee, a group of more than 170 of the most conservative lawmakers.
Related slideshow: Shooting at GOP baseball practice in Alexandria, Va. >>>
Scalise attempted to seek the House majority leader role after Kevin McCarthy announced he would attempt to succeed then-Speaker John Boehner. House Speaker Paul Ryan and others backed his rival for the post, then-Rep. Tom Price, who is now secretary of health and human services. Scalise withdrew his candidacy after McCarthy elected to leave the speaker’s race and stay on as majority leader.
Prior to being elected to the House, Scalise held office in both the Louisiana House of Representatives, where he served from 1995 to early 2008, and the Louisiana state Senate, where he served for less than a year.
Scalise was embroiled in controversy in 2014 when a Louisiana politics blog uncovered a 2002 speech he made to a white nationalist group founded by David Duke. Scalise said the speech was a “mistake I regret” and condemned the group’s views. Despite heavy criticism from some Democratic lawmakers, then-House Speaker Boehner backed Scalise to keep his leadership position.
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More on the shooting at GOP baseball practice:
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Photos: Shooting at GOP baseball practice in Alexandria, Va.
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