Stephen Joseph Scalise /skəˈliːs/ (born October 6, 1965) is the current United States House of Representatives Majority Whip and representative for Louisiana's 1st congressional district, serving since 2008. He is a member of the Republican Party and was the chairman of the conservative House Republican Study Committee.Prior to his congressional tenure, Scalise served for four months in the Louisiana State Senate and twelve years in the Louisiana House of Representatives. On June 19, 2014, Scalise was elected by his Republican colleagues to serve as Majority Whip of the United States House of Representatives.
He assumed office on August 1. He is the first Louisianian in the Majority Whip's position since Democrat Hale Boggs of Louisiana's 2nd congressional district held the position from 1962 to 1971. In 2017, Scalise became the dean of the Louisiana Congressional delegation upon the retirement of former senator David Vitter.On June 14, 2017, Scalise was shot in the hip along with some of his aides by a gunman using a rifle during a congressional baseball practice at the Eugene Simpson Baseball Fields in the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria, Virginia. Representative Mo Brooks, who was also at the practice, witnessed the attack and said he saw someone with a rifle behind the third base dugout.
Brooks then heard Scalise scream from second base and rushed to help him, using his belt as a tourniquet to stop Scalise's bleeding. According to Brooks, "at least five" people were shot. Senator Rand Paul, also a witness, said he heard "as many as 50 shots" and saw a staffer climb a fence to flee the area. Around 8 AM the same day it was reported that Scalise was in a stable condition.
