Scalise has contracted an infection from his wounds.
House Majority Whip Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) has been readmitted to the intensive care unit after contracting an infection from his gunshot wounds from the, MedStar Washington Hospital Center reported Thursday. Scalise, who was seriously injured after a gunman opened fire on congressional Republicans during a charity baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia, on June 16, has been undergoing treatment for a gunshot wound to the hip that hit his bones and internal organs. He has had multiple surgeries. According to, doctors “anticipated that Scalise would suffer an infection related to the shooting, ” and Scalise was told his recovery would have many ups and downs. Doctors at the hospital have changed his condition from “fair” to “serious” since the infection. Scalise was the most seriously injured among the five who were hit at the shooting. The others, including a congressional staffer, a lobbyist, and two members of the Capitol Police, have been released from the hospital. The shooter, James Hodgkinson, a 66-year-old from Illinois, died of multiple gunshot wounds to the torso on the day of the incident. Scalise, a member of the House Republican leadership, had an armed security detail with him at the baseball practice who were able to take down the shooter. The shooting prompted a brief time for reflection among lawmakers on Capitol Hill, who have been navigating a particularly heightened partisan congressional year. In the wake of the shooting, House Speaker Paul Ryan highlighted the lawmakers from across the aisle, specifically a photograph of Democratic lawmakers practicing for the same charity baseball game at a pitch not too far away, praying for their Republican colleagues. Both Ryan and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi have begun talks to better ensure lawmakers’ safety. While there seems to be bipartisan consensus to increase funding for the Capitol Police force, many lawmakers on the Hill, both Democratic and Republican, have turned down the notion of having their own security detail.
