United States Representative Steve Scalise, 51, finally returned to the House Floor having spent more than three months on recovery after life-threatening injury on Thursday, the Washington Post reported. Scalise was warmly welcomed by all the members of the House Floor who gave him standing ovation. He entered the floor on crutches with a smile after he was injured in a June 14 shooting in Alexandria, Virginia. He shook hands with his colleagues, and they embraced him.
Scalise's first speech on the House floor
In a speech on the House floor, Scalise said, "You have no idea how great it feels to be back at work here in the people’s House." He thanked all the people who saved his life from the deadly shooting, including the US Capitol Police officers, David Bailey and Crystal Griner.
He also thanked the doctors and his fellow members of the House floor for their love and support.
In the June 14 shooting, Louisiana congressman Scalise was seriously wounded by James Hodgkinson, 66, when he was practicing an annual Congressional Baseball Game for Charity. The shooter died in a conflict with the Capitol police. Scalise was at the risk of death when he arrived at the hospital. He has been serving in the United States House of Representatives Majority Whip since 2008.
The officials who were shot with Scalise were Congressional staffer Zack Barth, Lobbyist Matt Mika, and Capitol Police Officer Crystal Griner. The shooting created a concern for the security of the lawmakers.
On Wednesday, Eva Malecki, Capitol Police spokeswoman, said, "The Alexandria event continues to be the subject of an ongoing investigation."
Scene after the shooting
Scalise has been put under the extensive rehabilitation at his home after discharge from a hospital in late July. On Thursday, the office of congressman said that he would finish his remaining outpatient rehabilitation.
But soon, he will be resuming his work to guide the GOP agenda on the House side, Fox News reported. He will give an interview to 60 Minutes (American television program) which is scheduled to broadcast on Sunday.
A gunman shot him in his left hip with a rifle and a bullet passed through his right hip. The single round from the rifle damaged some of his bones, internal organs, and blood vessels, according to MedStar Washington Hospital Center. On Thursday morning, Scalise wrote on his Twitter account that "I'm back" with a photo in which he was standing and looking out.