President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump visited House Majority Whip Steve Scalise in the hospital Wednesday night following a shooting near the nation’s capital that left six people injured.
The first couple reportedly met with Scalise’s doctors at the MedStar Washington Hospital Center, where he underwent surgery, and they “spoke with his family and sat by his bedside,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters. The Trumps also met with Capitol Police Officer Crystal Griner, who was injured, and her wife.
The president tweeted about the visit shortly before 10 p.m. EDT, saying the Louisiana congressman was in “very tough shape.”
Scalise was shot in the hip by a lone gunman who opened fire on Republican lawmakers who were practicing for a congressional baseball game early Wednesday morning.
The hospital treating him said a bullet “travelled across his pelvis, fracturing bones, injuring internal organs and causing severe bleeding.” He was listed in critical condition late Wednesday and will need further operations.
CNN reported that the mood in the hospital was “somber” during the Trumps’ 20-minute visit. The first couple brought flowers.
Spicer told reporters the president would not attend the baseball game Scalise and others had been preparing for, citing “not enough time to follow Secret Service protocols” to protect the president.
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