House Speaker Paul Ryan delivered an emotional speech to his congressional colleagues Wednesday — hours after a top Republican was shot during a practice for an annual bipartisan charity baseball game.
Speaking on the House floor, Ryan called for unity among Congress members and thanked Capitol police officers for their quick response.
“We are united in our shock. We are united in our anguish,” Ryan said. “An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.”
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise was shot in the hip while Republican members of Congress and members of their staff practiced at a Virginia baseball field early in the morning. Five victims, including two Capitol Police officers, were taken to the hospital, police said. President Donald Trump said the suspected shooter, identified as James Hodgkinson, of Illinois, died from his injuries.
Ryan received a standing ovation from lawmakers from both parties in the House chamber.
“Every day, we come here to test and challenge each other,” he said. “We feel so deeply about the things we fight for and believe in. At times, our emotions can get the best of us. We are all imperfect. But we do not shed our humanity when we enter this chamber.”
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi also delivered a speech, where she said Republicans and Democrats will still come together for their annual baseball game Thursday, and called the shooter’s actions “cowardly.”
“We cannot let that be a victory for the assailant or anyone who would think that way,” Pelosi said. “So tomorrow we’ll go out on the field, we’ll root for our team, we want everyone to do his or her very best, and we will use this occasion as one that brings us together and not separates us further.”
Read Ryan’s full speech from the House floor in the text below:
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