House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (seen Tuesday) says he will undergo surgery Wednesday as part of his recovery from last June’s shooting at a baseball practice
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise says he will undergo surgery Wednesday as part of his recovery from last June’s shooting at a baseball practice.
The Louisiana Republican said Tuesday he’s made tremendous progress recovering from the shooting.
He didn’t provide details of the surgery, only that it was planned for about a month and is a ‘continued part of my recovery.’
Scalise says he intends to remain fully engaged in his work as he heals, but gave no specific timeline for his return.
He said: ‘I look forward to returning to the Capitol as soon as I can within the coming weeks.’
Scalise was struck by a bullet in the hip, shattering bone and damaging internal organs.
He often uses a cane when he walks.
During his recovery, Scalise has said that being shot has only strengthened his belief in the Second Amendment and his opposition to gun control.
The congressman said in October that the shooting, which nearly killed him, and the horrific October 1 massacre in Las Vegas which killed over 50 people and wounded hundreds more did not sway his pro-gun views.
‘I think it’s fortified it,’ the House Majority whip told Fox News.
Scalise said that any attempts at gun control would not have prevented what took place in Las Vegas.
‘Well, first of all, look at some of those bills,’ he said.
Scalise was struck by a bullet in the hip, shattering bone and damaging internal organs. He often uses a cane when he walks (as seen in the above stock image)
During his recovery, Scalise has said that being shot has only strengthened his belief in the Second Amendment and his opposition to gun control. He is seen after he was shot in Virginia last June
‘Those bills wouldn’t have done anything to stop this. I mean the gunmen actually cleared background checks.
‘So to promote some kind of gun control, I think, is the wrong way to approach this.
‘And frankly, what I experienced was when there was a shooter, we had – luckily, we had Capitol Police with their own guns.
‘Every single day in America, regular citizens that just have a passionate belief in the Second Amendment, that have their own guns, use guns every single day to protect themselves against criminals.
‘And those stories never get told or hardly ever get told, but that’s a different side of the story that I think is important. And people use guns way more to defend themselves from criminals.’