More than three months after a baseball practice shooting left him fighting for his life, House Republican Whip Steve Scalise returned to the House on Thursday, Newsmax reports.
“You have no idea how great this feels to be back here at work in the people’s House,” the 51-year old Louisianan said to a chamber packed with lawmakers, including senators who welcome him back. Scalise was welcomed with hugs and a roaring bipartisan standing ovation, AP writes.
In an extraordinary gesture, Speaker Paul Ryan, presided and ordered members to sit in their chairs to listen to Scalise’s remarks. “Our prayers have been answered,” Ryan said. The moment marked a departure from the sour divisions that have dominated Congress this year between two parties locked in combat over President Donald Trump and the GOP agenda.
Scalise thanked the two wounded Capitol Hill police officers who returned fire and helped kill the shooter, James Hodgkinson of Belleville, Illinois.
Scalise and four others were injured 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. Scalise was struck in the hip, and the bullet tore into blood vessels, bones and internal organs.
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