'A hell of a way to lose weight': Trump calls out congressman wounded in shooting during tax bill victory speech
- President Donald Trump congratulated Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise for his contributions to the passage of the Republican tax bill during his victory speech on Wednesday.
- Trump said Scalise is "braver than all of us" and "had a more rough year than most of us."
- Scalise was shot in the hip and critically wounded in June during a congressional baseball practice in Virginia.
President Donald Trump and fellow Republicans celebrated their tax bill at the White House after the House passed its final version on Wednesday, capping off a furious seven-week push to bring about the most sweeping changes to the US tax code in decades.
During his victory speech, Trump called out specific names of lawmakers who he said contributed significantly to the passage of the bill. Among those Trump commended was Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, who was wounded during a shooting at a congressional baseball practice earlier this year.
"Steve Scalise, braver than all of us," Trump said. "He had a more rough year than most of us. It's a hell of a way to lose weight, Steve."
Legislators applauded Scalise, who showed up to the celebration at the White House with what appeared to be forearm crutches.
Scalise, the House majority whip, was shot in the hip, along with four other people in June by a gunman with political grievances against Republicans. The bullet tore into his blood vessels, bones, and internal organs, leaving him in critical condition.
US Capitol Police and other officers killed the gunman at the scene. Scalise spent about three months in recovery before returning to Congress and entering the House chamber to a thunderous applause from his colleagues on both sides of the aisle.
"You have no idea how great this feels to be back here at work in the people's House," he said at the time.
In one of his first interviews after returning to Washington, Scalise defended current gun laws.
"The problem is not that there are too many guns," Scalise said. "It's that there are people that will go out and break the law, whether it's a gun or some other weapon or a bomb. There's no excuse for breaking the law."