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House Majority Leader
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Stephen Joseph Scalise is the House Majority Leader, the second-highest-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives. Representing Louisiana’s 1st congressional district since 2008, Scalise is the operational engine of the Republican conference. While Speaker Mike Johnson manages the macro-politics and negotiations, Scalise is responsible for scheduling legislation, whipping votes, and ensuring the President's agenda survives the treacherous House floor. Scalise is widely respected for his sheer physical and political resilience. In 2017, he survived a near-fatal, politically motivated mass shooting at a congressional baseball practice. In late 2023, he battled and successfully defeated blood cancer (multiple myeloma). Despite briefly winning the Republican nomination for Speaker in October 2023, he withdrew when he could not secure the 217 votes needed on the floor. He remains the most seasoned and connected institutionalist within the House GOP leadership.
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Elected House Majority Leader for the 118th and 119th Congresses, controlling the legislative floor schedule
Survived a targeted assassination attempt in 2017 at the Congressional Baseball Game practice, enduring massive internal injuries and a grueling recovery to return to leadership
Successfully managed his duties as Majority Leader while undergoing aggressive chemotherapy for multiple myeloma in 2023/2024
Faced intense national outrage and calls for resignation in 2014 when it was revealed he had addressed a white supremacist group founded by David Duke in 2002 (Scalise apologized, stating he was unaware of the group's core ideology at the time)
His brief, failed bid for Speaker of the House in late 2023 exposed deep, bitter rifts between his loyalists and the supporters of Jim Jordan, permanently fracturing relationships within the GOP conference
Served as the House Republican Whip (2014–2023), enforcing party discipline during the turbulent first Trump administration
