Majority Whip Steve Scalise is back in the intensive care “due to new concerns for infection,” MedStar Washington Hospital Center announced Wednesday evening. The Republican congressman’s condition was listed as serious, according to the hospital, after appearing to be on the mend three weeks after being shot in the hip during a congressional baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia. The June 14th attack injured five, including Scalise, before Capitol Police officers shot and killed shooter James Hodgkinson.
Scalise’s readmission to the intensive care unit is a worrying reversal on the heels of weeks of improvement following emergency surgery to repair the damage done by a bullet that “fragmented, and caused significant damage to bones, internal organs and blood vessels.” The 51-year-old Louisiana congressman was released from intensive care nine days after being admitted to the medical facility; the last two public updates from the hospital—on June 21 and June 23—both stated Scalise continued to make “good progress.” “He remains in fair condition as he continues an extended period of healing and rehabilitation,” the June 23rd status update read.
There were other indications that House GOP’s No. 3 had been making improvements. “Friend and fellow Republican congressman Phil Roe, who represents Tennessee’s 1st Congressional District, told ABC affiliate WJHL earlier this week, ‘He’s had a very, very serious injury. He’s just out of bed. He’s not able to eat yet, but he is getting better.’”
The hospital said it would update Scalise’s status on Thursday.
*Correction, July 6, 2017: This post originally misidentified the MedStar Washington Hospital Center where Rep. Scalise is hospitalized as part of George Washington University.
