House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., described for the first time the moments after he was shot at the Republican baseball practice in June, and said that once he realized he couldn’t move anymore, he began to pray.
“When I was laying out on that ball field, the first thing I did once I was down and I couldn’t move anymore is I just started to pray,” Scalise said in his first House floor speech since the shooting. “And I’ll tell you, it gave me an unbelievable sense of calm knowing that at that point it was in God’s hands. But I prayed for very specific things, and I will tell you pretty much every one of those prayers was answered. And they were some pretty challenging prayers I was putting in God’s hands.”
“He really did deliver for me and my family, and it just gives you that renewed faith and understanding that the power of prayer is something that you just cannot underestimate,” he said.
Scalise returned to Congress on Thursday for the first time since the shooting in June to deliver a speech on the House floor before his colleagues.
The Louisiana Republican was shot in the hip when a gunman opened fired on a group of Republicans who were practicing for the annual congressional baseball game. Scalise underwent numerous surgeries and intensive rehab to re-learn how to walk.
Greeted with a standing ovation, Scalise made his way into the House chamber Thursday aided by crutches.
