House Majority Whip Scalise Returns To Work 3 Months After Being Shot
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WASHINGTON (AP) - The congressman shot in June at a baseball practice is returning to work at the Capitol after three months in the hospital and at a rehabilitation facility.
Cheers and sustained applause greeted Majority Whip Steve Scalise as he returned to the House. As he opened his remarks, Scalise said, "You have no idea how great this feels to be back at work."
Scalise described what transpired that early morning in June, thanked the members of the U.S. Capitol Police who exchanged fire with the gunman and the physicians who put him back together. He also thanked his wife, Jennifer, who watched from the visitor's gallery.
Speaker Paul Ryan welcomed Scalise with the words, "our prayers have been answered."
Slowly and with a sense of purpose, Scalise made his way into the chamber. He was wounded three months ago when a gunman opened fire at a Republican baseball practice.
All members of the House stood and applauded. The Louisiana Republican relied on crutches to walk.
Scalise and four other people were injured June 14 when a gunman opened fire on a Republican baseball practice in nearby Alexandria, Virginia. U.S. Capitol Police and other officers returned fire and killed the gunman. The rifle-wielding attacker had nursed grievances against President Donald Trump and the GOP.
The 51-year-old congressman was struck in the hip, and the bullet tore into blood vessels, bones and internal organs.
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