Steve Scalise

Stephen Joseph Scalise (/skəˈliːs/; born October 6, 1965) is an American politician who is the United States House of Representatives minority whip and representative for Louisiana's 1st congressional district, serving since 2008. The district includes most of New Orleans's suburbs, such as Metairie, Kenner, and Slidell, as well as a portion of New Orleans itself. He is a member of the Republican Party and was the chair of the conservative House Republican Study Committee. Before his election to Congress, Scalise served four months in the Louisiana State Senate and twelve years in the Louisiana House of Representatives. On June 19, 2014, Scalise's Republican colleagues elected him majority whip of the United States House of Representatives. He assumed office on August 1. He is the first Louisianian to serve as majority whip since 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 Senator David Vitter's retirement. On June 14, 2017, during practice for the Congressional Baseball Game, Scalise was shot and seriously wounded by a left-wing domestic terrorist who was targeting Republicans. He underwent treatment for several months, returning to Congress on September 28. After Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, Scalise supported Donald Trump's position by falsely denying Biden's victory and participating in efforts to overturn the results. As of May 2022, Scalise still refuses to acknowledge that Biden won the election legitimately.