President Donald Trump said Thursday that House Majority Whip Steve Scalise is “in some trouble” and is condition is “more difficult” than first thought after he was shot Wednesday at a congressional baseball practice by a gunman who later died from injuries sustained in a shootout with police.
“Steve in his own way might have brought some unity to our long-divided country,” the president said at a White House event on workforce initiatives. “He’s a great fighter and he’s going to be OK, we hope.”
Scalise, the third-highest ranked House Republican, was shot in the hip Wednesday and was reported to be in critical condition late in the day at MedStar Washington Hospital Center. The bullet tore through his pelvis, fracturing bones, injuring internal organs and causing severe bleeding, the hospital said. The 51-year-old underwent emergency surgery and received multiple units of blood, the hospital said, adding that he’ll need additional operations.
Trump and his wife Melania visited the hospital Wednesday night. They spoke with Scalise’s wife and sat at the gravely injured Louisiana lawmaker’s bedside. Press Secretary Sean Spicer described it as a somber scene.
Vice President Mike Pence visited the hospital Thursday morning. Afterward, he wrote on Twitter that he and his wife Karen “thanked docs & staff,” and he asked people to keep Scalise and “all involved & their loved ones in your prayers.”
A congressional staffer, two Capitol Police officers and a lobbyist were also wounded in the early morning attack at a ballpark in Alexandria, Virginia. The gunman was identified as 66-year-old James T. Hodgkinson of Belleville, Illinois. He died later from injuries sustained in a shootout with police. full story
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