Steve Scalise | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2019 | |
| House Majority Leader | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2023 | |
| Speaker | |
| Preceded by | Steny Hoyer |
| House Minority Whip | |
| In office January 3, 2019 – January 3, 2023 | |
| Leader | Kevin McCarthy |
| Preceded by | Steny Hoyer |
| Succeeded by | Katherine Clark |
| House Majority Whip | |
| In office August 1, 2014 – January 3, 2019 | |
| Speaker | |
| Preceded by | Kevin McCarthy |
| Succeeded by | Jim Clyburn |
| Chair of theRepublican Study Committee | |
| In office January 3, 2013 – August 1, 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Jim Jordan |
| Succeeded by | Rob Woodall |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromLouisiana's1st district | |
| Assumed office May 3, 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Bobby Jindal |
| Member of theLouisiana Senate from the9th district | |
| In office January 14, 2008 – May 6, 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Ken Hollis |
| Succeeded by | Conrad Appel |
| Member of theLouisiana House of Representatives from the 82nd district | |
| In office January 8, 1996 – January 14, 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Quentin Dastugue |
| Succeeded by | Cameron Henry |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Stephen Joseph Scalise (1965-10-06)October 6, 1965 (age 59) New Orleans,Louisiana, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Louisiana State University (BS) |
| Website | |
Steve Scalise speaks in support of the Secure Equipment Act of 2021 Recorded October 19, 2021 | |
Stephen Joseph Scalise[1] (/skəˈliːs/skə-LEESS; born October 6, 1965) is an American politician who has been theHouse majority leader since 2023 and theU.S. representative forLouisiana's 1st congressional district since 2008. A member of theRepublican Party,[2][3] he was theHouse majority whip from 2014 to 2019 and theHouse minority whip 2019 to 2023.
Before his election to Congress, Scalise served four months in theLouisiana State Senate and three terms in theLouisiana House of Representatives. He was the chair of the HouseRepublican Study Committee from 2013 to 2014.[4] On June 19, 2014, Scalise's Republican colleagues elected himmajority whip of the United States House of Representatives. He assumed office on August 1. He is the first Louisianian to serve as majority whip sinceHale Boggs ofLouisiana's 2nd congressional district held the position from 1962 to 1971. In 2017, Scalise became the dean of the Louisiana congressional delegation upon SenatorDavid Vitter's retirement. Scalise's district includes most ofNew Orleans's suburbs, such asMetairie,Kenner, andSlidell, as well as a portion of New Orleans itself.
On June 14, 2017, during practice for that year'sCongressional Baseball Game, Scalisewas shot and seriously wounded by an anti-Trump domestic terrorist[5][6][7] who was targeting Republicans.[8] Scalise underwent treatment for several months, returning toCongress on September 28.
On October 11, Scalise defeatedJim Jordan to win the Republican nomination for theOctober 2023 Speaker of the House election following theremoval of Kevin McCarthy. However, he withdrew a day later after failing to consolidate the necessary votes.[9][10]
Scalise was born inNew Orleans,[11] one of three children of Alfred Joseph Scalise, areal estate broker who died on October 8, 2015, at the age of 77, and Carol Schilleci. His siblings are Glenn and Tara Scalise.[12]
Scalise's great-grandparents immigrated to the United States from Italy in the late 1800s.[13] He graduated fromArchbishop Rummel High School inMetairie inJefferson Parish[14] and earned aBachelor of Science degree fromLouisiana State University (LSU) inBaton Rouge with a major incomputer science and a minor inpolitical science.[15][16] At LSU, Scalise was amember of theAcacia Fraternity.[17] He serves on the board of the American Italian Renaissance Foundation, servicing theAmerican Italian Cultural Center.
In 1995, Scalise was recruited by Louisiana Republicans to run for Republican (formerly Democratic) state representative Quentin Dastugue's District 82 seat in theLouisiana House of Representatives after Dastague made an unsuccessful bid forgovernor of Louisiana. Scalise won the seat and was re-elected in 1999 and 2003. He served until 2007.[18][19]
On October 20, 2007, Scalise was elected in anonpartisan blanket primary to the District 9 seat in theLouisiana Senate vacated by the term-limitedKen Hollis ofMetairie. Scalise received 19,154 votes (61 percent) in a three-way contest. Fellow RepublicanPolly Thomas, an education professor at theUniversity of New Orleans who subsequently won a special state House election in 2016, polled 8,948 votes (29 percent). A Democrat, David Gereighty, polled 3,154 votes (10 percent) in the heavily Republican-oriented district.[20] Scalise, who was term-limited out of the House, was succeeded in the state House by his aide,Cameron Henry ofMetairie.
In the special election on November 4, 2008, to fill the remaining three and one-half years in Scalise's state Senate term,Conrad Appel defeated Polly Thomas, 21,853 (52.1 percent) to 20,065 (47.9 percent). Thomas had also lost the race for the seat in 2007 to Scalise.[21]
In 2004, Scalise announced that he would run for the 1st congressional district, but deferred to the preference of party leaders and supported Bobby Jindal, who won the position vacated by the successful U.S. senatorial candidate,David Vitter.
In 2007, when Jindal was elected to the governorship of Louisiana, Scalise announced his intentions to seek the House seat again. This time he received Republican party backing.
Scalise was sworn in on May 7, 2008.[22]
In the regularly scheduled election, Scalise was reelected over Democrat Jim Harlan, 66 percent to 34 percent.[23]
Scalise defeated the Democratic nominee, Myron Katz, and anIndependent, Arden Wells, in his 2010 bid for reelection.[24]
In his own 2012 congressional race, Scalise prevailed with 193,490 votes (66.6 percent) over four opponents, the strongest of whom was the Democrat M. V. "Vinny" Mendoza, who finished with 61,979 votes (21.3 percent). A second Republican, Gary King, received 24,838 votes (8.6 percent). Independent Arden Wells ran again and received 4,285 votes (1.5 percent) in his second race against Scalise.[25]
In 2011, Scalise became a co-sponsor of Bill H.R. 3261, otherwise known as theStop Online Piracy Act (withdrawn January 23, 2012).[29] As chairman of the Republican Study Committee, Scalise dismissedDerek Khanna, a committee staffer, in December 2012 because of pressure from content industry lobbyists after the study committee published a memo advocatingcopyright reform.[30]
In 2013, Scalise voted against reauthorizing theViolence Against Women Act.[31] Also in 2013, Scalise sponsored a bill called the FCC Consolidated Reporting Act. The bill makes theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) consolidate several of their reports into one report.[32]
In December 2017, Scalise voted in favor of theTax Cuts and Jobs Act.[33] Scalise says that the bill will "put more money in the pockets of hard-working families."[34]
Scalise was the ranking Republican on theHouse Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis during the May 19, 2021, hearings involvingEmergent BioSolutions founder Faud El-Hibiri and its CEO Robert G. Kramer.[35][36][37][38][39][40][41]
In the aftermath of Rep.Eric Cantor's unexpected defeat byDave Brat on June 10, 2014, Scalise launched a campaign to replace Rep.Kevin McCarthy in the position ofmajority whip of the House; McCarthy himself would replace Cantor as House majority leader. Scalise's ascent to leadership built on his "come-from-behind win in 2012 to become chairman" of theRepublican Study Committee.[42] Scalise subsequently won a three-way race for whip, winning on the first ballot despite the efforts of fellow candidatesPeter Roskam andMarlin Stutzman.[43][44] He came under fire for using the assistance of a federal lobbyist,John Feehery, when hiring staff for the Majority Leader's Press Office.[45]
On June 14, 2017, at 7:09 amEDT, Scalise and three other people were shot and wounded by James Hodgkinson, a left-wing extremist with a record of domestic violence,[8][46] who opened fire with a rifle during a baseball practice of the Republican team for the annualCongressional Baseball Game. The practice was taking place at the Eugene Simpson Baseball Fields in theDel Ray neighborhood ofAlexandria, Virginia. Scalise, the only member of Congress to be hit, was shot in the hip. RepresentativeMo Brooks, who was also at the practice, witnessed the attack and said he saw someone with a rifle behind the third basedugout. Brooks then heard Scalise scream fromsecond base. Scalise crawled into right field, bleeding. SenatorJeff Flake and RepresentativeBrad Wenstrup, a former podiatrist, ran to assist Scalise after Hodgkinson was shot.[47][48] SenatorRand Paul, also a witness, said he heard "as many as 50 shots".[49]
Initially conscious, Scalise went into shock while being taken toMedStar Washington Hospital Center[50][51] incritical condition, where he underwent immediate surgery. He was hit by a single rifle bullet that "travelled across his pelvis, fracturing bones, injuring internal organs, and causing severe bleeding".[50] Dr. Jack Sava at the MedStar Washington Hospital Center said that "when he arrived, he was in critical condition with an imminent risk of death". By June 16, although still in critical condition, Sava said, "We have controlled internal bleeding and his vital signs have stabilized." On June 17, it was announced that his condition had improved to "serious" and he was responsive enough to talk with his family.[52] On June 21, the hospital issued a press release stating: "Congressman Steve Scalise continues to make good progress. He is now listed in fair condition and is beginning an extended period of healing and rehabilitation."[53][54]
On July 5, 2017, Scalise returned to theintensive care unit after becoming ill with an infection related to the shooting.[55]
On July 13, 2017, it was reported that Scalise had undergone additional surgery and that his condition had been upgraded to fair.[56] He was discharged from the hospital on July 26 and went through a period of inpatient rehabilitation.[57] On September 28, to applause and cheers, he returned to the House of Representatives, where he gave a speech about his experience related to the traumatic events.[58]
Hodgkinson, 66, was killed by police at the scene. He was married and lived inBelleville, Illinois, where he owned a small business doing home inspections, mold testing, and air-quality testing. He had encounters with police involving violence or firearms in 2006 and 2017; he was registered as a firearms owner in Illinois. In January 2017 he closed down his business. In the months before the shooting he was living in a car near the Alexandria baseball field and regularly visited a nearby YMCA.[59] He was aBernie Sanders supporter and volunteer, and a fierce critic of Trump and the Republican Party on social media, in letters to the editor, and in phone calls to his representative.[8][46]Virginia attorney generalMark Herring concluded Hodgkinson was "fueled by rage against Republican legislators" and the shooting was "an act of terrorism."[60]
The Republicans lost their majority in the2018 House of Representatives elections, and Scalise was elected as House minority whip, withKevin McCarthy ofCalifornia as Minority Leader. While as Majority Whip he was the third-ranking House Republican behind SpeakerPaul Ryan and McCarthy, as Minority Whip he is second in command behind McCarthy.[61]
On January 6, 2021, Scalise voted to de-certify President-elect Biden's victories in Arizona and Pennsylvania.[62][63]
Scalise condemned theCapitol attack as terrorism and compared it to theCongressional baseball shooting. "It would ... be naive to think the [2017] shooter arrived at his decision in a vacuum", Scalise said, adding, "It would be equally naive to think that the Capitol rioters arrived at their decisions in a void. Violent rhetoric helps radicalize people. Republicans and Democrats alike must have the moral clarity to call this language out whenever it is spoken, not only when it comes from the other side of the political aisle."[64]
In February 2021, more than a month afterJoe Biden's inauguration, Scaliserefused to acknowledge that the election was not stolen or fraudulent.[65] In May 2021, he called for the ouster ofLiz Cheney asHouse Republican Conference chair due to her vote to impeach Trump for inciting a mob toattack the U.S. Capitol.[66] On May 19, 2021, Scalise and the seven other House Republican leaders voted against establishing a national commission to investigate the January 6, 2021, attack on the United States Capitol Complex. Thirty-five House Republicans and all 217 Democrats present voted to establish such a commission.[67][68]
In October 2021,Fox News anchorChris Wallace interviewed Scalise. In the aftermath of controversy surrounding the 2020 presidential election, Scalise refused to acknowledge the loss of president Donald Trump. His refusal to admit Trump's loss was viewed as fear of Trump's vindictiveness and willingness to kowtow to Trump in order to avoid being targeted by Trump.[69]
The House Republican Conference elected Scalise to serve as Majority Leader during the 118th Congress. Scalise was unopposed for the position.[70][71]
On October 3, 2023Kevin McCarthy was removed asSpeaker of the House. Days later, House Republicans chose Scalise overJim Jordan as their candidate for Speaker of the House, by a margin of 113 to 99.[72][73] After failing to consolidate the necessary 217 Republican votes to become the Speaker of the House, Scalise withdrew his name from consideration as a nominee for the Speakership.[74][9]
Scalise supported PresidentDonald Trump's 2017executive order temporarily banning citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. He stated, "It's very prudent to say, 'Let's be careful about who comes into our country to make sure that they're not terrorists.'"[75]
Scalise opposes theAffordable Care Act. He applauded a Texas district court ruling the Affordable Care Act was unconstitutional in its entirety.[76]
Scalise has been an opponent of gun control and was given an "A+ rating" and endorsed by theNRA Political Victory Fund.[77][78][79][80] After being shot, and in the wake of the2017 Las Vegas shooting, Scalise said onMeet the Press that he is still agun rights supporter: "Don't try to put new laws in place that don't fix these problems. They only make it harder for law-abiding citizens to own a gun." Scalise has described theSecond Amendment as being "unlimited".[81]
In 2018, Scalise co-sponsored a bill to "strengthen school safety and security", which required a two-thirds vote for passage given that it was brought up under an expedited process known as Suspension of the Rules. The House voted 407–10 to approve the bill, which would "provide $50 million a year for a new federal grant program to train students, teachers and law enforcement on how to spot and report signs of gun violence". Entitled the STOP (Students, Teachers, and Officers Preventing) School Violence Act, it would "develop anonymous telephone and online systems where people could report threats of violence." At the same time, it would authorize $25 million for schools to improve and harden their security, such as installing new locks, lights, metal detectors and panic buttons. A separate spending bill would be required to provide money for the grant program.[82]
Scalise opposes the legalization of marijuana, which he deems agateway drug for other drugs. He was given a "D" rating fromNational Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws for his voting history regardingcannabis-related causes.[83]
According to theWashington Blade, Scalise has one of "the most anti-LGBT reputations of any lawmaker". He opposed the repeal of the US military'sDon't Ask Don't Tell policy, stating "military leaders we've spoken with feel strongly that this policy should not be repealed"[84] and including sexuality underhate crime legislation, voting against theMatthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.[85] He also opposessame-sex marriage, having praised the 2014Robicheaux v. Caldwell ruling. Scalise condemned the Supreme Court decisionObergefell v. Hodges, which held that same-sex marriage bans violate the constitution.[86] Scalise's voting record has a zero rating from theLGBTadvocacy groupHuman Rights Campaign.[87]
Scalise rejects thescientific consensus on climate change.[88][89] He has on multiple occasions stated that scientists predictedglobal cooling in the 1970s.[88][90][91]
In 2002, Scalise was a speaker at a convention for theEuropean-American Unity and Rights Organization (EURO), a group which was founded byDavid Duke. This became known in 2014 after political blogger[92][93]Lamar White, Jr. uncovered anonymous comments from 2002 onStormfront, awhite supremacist website, which made reference to Scalise as a 2002 speaker at the convention.[92][94][95][96][97][98] Scalise confirmed that he had spoken at the EURO conference in 2002 and stated at the time he did not know of the "racist nature of the group". Scalise said he spoke about state tax legislation and that EURO was "one of the many groups that I spoke to regarding this critical legislation," further stating that this is a group "whose views I wholeheartedly condemn." Scalise apologized for speaking to the group, saying, "It was a mistake I regret, and I emphatically oppose the divisive racial and religious views groups like these hold."[93] After Scalise's attendance at the conference was publicized in 2014, journalist Stephanie Grace alleged that Scalise had once called himself "David Duke without the baggage".[99][100]
VariousLouisiana politicians, including Republican governorBobby Jindal and Democratic congressmanCedric Richmond, defended Scalise's character.[101]Speaker of the HouseJohn Boehner voiced his continued confidence in Scalise as Majority Whip saying that he had "made an error in judgment" and was "a man of high integrity and good character."[94][102] Several Democratic members of Congress, as well asMo Elleithee, a spokesperson for theDemocratic National Committee (DNC), criticized Scalise and challenged his statement that he was not aware of the group's affiliation with racism and anti-Semitism.[103] Mark Potok of theSouthern Poverty Law Center called upon Scalise to step down from his leadership position asMajority Whip.[104][105][106]
In 2020, Scalise spread a video that was doctored to depict the political activistAdy Barkan, who is disabled and uses aspeech-generating device, asking 2020 presidential candidateJoe Biden whether he supporteddefunding police, to which Biden appeared to reply in the affirmative. Barkan asked Scalise to delete the video, which was flagged by Twitter as manipulated media, and apologize. Scalise deleted the video; his spokesperson said that editing the video in this manner was "common practice."[107][108]NowThis News posted the interview section on Police Reform onYouTube showing in fact Barkan asked Biden about police reform, including defunding them and Biden agreed stating he proposed that kind of reform.[109]
ARoman Catholic,[110] Scalise married Jennifer Ann Letulle on March 19, 2005.[111] They have two children.[112]
On August 29, 2023, Scalise announced he had been diagnosed withmultiple myeloma. He said the cancer was detected early and was "very treatable".[113]
On September 14, Scalise returned to work, having begunchemotherapy, and reported that his treatment was "going well."[114]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
| Louisiana House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Quentin Dastugue | Member of theLouisiana House of Representatives from the 82nd district 1996–2008 | Succeeded by |
| Louisiana State Senate | ||
| Preceded by Ken Hollis | Member of theLouisiana Senate from the9th district 2008 | Succeeded by Conrad Appel |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromLouisiana's 1st congressional district 2008–present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | House Majority Whip 2014–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | House Minority Whip 2019–2023 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | House Majority Leader 2023–present | Incumbent |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chair of theRepublican Study Committee 2013–2014 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | United States representatives by seniority 66th | Succeeded by |
| Preceded byasGovernor of Hawaii | Order of precedence of the United States | Succeeded byasHouse Minority Leader |
Articles related to Steve Scalise | |
|---|---|
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
