House Majority Whip Steve Scalise made a triumphant return to the baseball field Wednesday, nearly a year after suffering near-fatal wounds during a shooting at a practice game.
Fellow Republican Jeff Flake tweeted a photo of the Louisiana lawmaker throwing a ball in his yellow and white Louisiana State University uniform at a DC-area field as he practiced for a game next week.
“@SteveScalise back on the field this morning,” tweeted the Arizona senator, who also was on the field during the rampage. “This does my heart good.”
Scalise, who fielded balls at second base, retweeted the image, writing: “Feels good to be back with the team!”
On June 14, 2017, James Hodgkinson, 66, of Belleville, Ill., opened fire on the baseball-playing GOP lawmakers in Alexandria, Va., before US Capitol police and other cops returned fire and killed him.
A day after the attack, Democrats and Republicans gathered at Nationals Park to play the annual charity game, dedicating the game to Scalise and others who were wounded — Capitol Police
Officer Crystal Griner, aide Zack Barth and lobbyist Matt Mika.
Scalise underwent several surgeries after being struck in the hip during practice for the Republicans’ annual game against Democrats. The bullet tore into his blood vessels, bones and internal organs.
Scalise, 52, still uses crutches, which were seen behind him in the tweeted photo.
Ohio GOP Rep. Brad Wenstrup, a former Army combat surgeon who raced to Scalise’s side after he was hit, on Wednesday tweeted “Welcome back, Steve Scalise” along with a photo of the two congressmen smiling on the baseball field.
Wenstrup and Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama helped save Scalise’s life by applying a tourniquet, doctors have said.
Lauren White, Scalise’s press secretary, said he is looking forward to being back at the game on June 14, the anniversary of the shooting.
“He’s continuing to make great progress in his rehabilitation and enjoyed being at the ball field today with his teammates,” she told The Times-Picayune of New Orleans.
In September, Scalise addressed his colleagues from the House floor.
“As you can imagine, these last 3 ¹/₂ months have been pretty challenging times for me and my family, but if you look at the outpouring of love, of warmth, of prayer — my gosh, [my wife] Jennifer and I have been overwhelmed with all of that outpouring,” he said.
