--- title: Steve Scalise Hopes For Congressional Unity After Shooting description: Scalise's shooting was one of the only things that united Congress over the summer. He's hoping that unity will set a precedent. canonical: https://time.com/4964486/steve-scalise-60-minutes-interview/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-10-02T00:00:09.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T17:40:35.347Z article:section: Politics og:title: Steve Scalise Hopes for Political Unity After Near-Death Experience og:description: He thinks there's a chance for bipartisan action og:url: https://time.com/4964486/steve-scalise-60-minutes-interview/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltae0b3a659e008e83/6988d7454ee262248e30e51f/steve-scalise-hospital-release.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: House Majority Whip Steve Scalise og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Steve Scalise Hopes for Political Unity After Near-Death Experience twitter:description: He thinks there's a chance for bipartisan action twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltae0b3a659e008e83/6988d7454ee262248e30e51f/steve-scalise-hospital-release.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'We're Not That Far Apart.' Steve Scalise Hopes for Political Unity After Near-Death Experience  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Oct 2, 2017 12:00 AM UTC  House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., speaks to the media following the House Republican Conference meeting in the Capitol on Tuesday, June 2, 2015. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., speaks to the media following the House Republican Conference meeting in the Capitol on Tuesday, June 2, 2015.Bill Clark—CQ-Roll Call,Inc./Getty Images  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Oct 2, 2017 12:00 AM UTC House Majority Whip Steve Scalise’s[ near-fatal shooting in June](http://time.com/4817818/steve-scalise-alexandria-shooting/) —which kept him out of commission for over three months —was arguably the only thing that managed to unite Congress over the summer, with both Republicans[ and Democrats](http://time.com/4817859/steve-scalise-alexandria-shooting-prayer-photo/) fervently wishing for his recovery. But he’s hoping that unity may set a precedent to produce legislative successes going forward. “Hopefully this might have pulled us a little bit closer together. It’s easy for that to go away, but — I would hope that we — we focus on how we can achieve some of those things that we haven’t been able to get done yet,” Scalise told CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell in a _60_ _Minutes_ interview, his first since the shooting. Scalise was [critically wounded](http://time.com/4817928/steve-scalise-congressional-baseball-game-biography/) on June 14, when 66-year-old James Hodgkinson [opened fire ](http://time.com/4818098/steve-scalise-congressional-baseball-shooting/)on a field in Alexandria, Va. Congressional Republicans were practicing for their upcoming baseball game against the Democrats, a longstanding bipartisan tradition. Scalise was one of five people who were shot, but his injuries were the most severe — he was shot in the left hip, and the bullet infiltrated his internal organs, causing massive blood loss. He was transported to Medstar Hospital in Washington on a helicopter. “I found out later just how much damage was done internally,” Scalise said on _60 Minutes._ “There was a lot of damage inside that had to get fixed.” Scalise also described the moments immediately following the shooting, explaining how he tried to crawl away from the gunfire. When his body gave out, he said, he began to pray. “I prayed, “God, please don’t let my daughter have to walk up the aisle alone,” he said. “That was the first thing that came to mind.” The Louisiana congressman spent six weeks at MedStar, nearly half of which were spent [in intensive care](http://time.com/4846569/steve-scalise-intensive-care-shooting/), according to _60 Minutes._ Although he has begun the recovery process, pieces of the bullet that hit him are expected to remain lodged in his body for the rest of his life, according to _60 Minutes_. Despite his long road to recovery, he walked[ into the Capitol](http://time.com/4960930/steve-scalise-capitol-hill-return/) on Thursday to a standing ovation from the chamber. But fierce policy fights on issues like tax reform and the debt ceiling likely loom ahead. However, he said he does think Republicans and Democrats have the potential to find common ground. “Ultimately, on some of these issues, we’re not that far apart,” Scalise said. “But when everybody goes into their separate corners, its just real easy to it’s just real easy to — to demonize — the other side instead of saying, ‘Okay, how can we come together and figure out how to get done what’s important for the country?'” Steve Scalise Hopes For Congressional Unity After Shooting ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4964486/steve-scalise-60-minutes-interview/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4964486/steve-scalise-60-minutes-interview/"},"headline":"'We're Not That Far Apart.' 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