Joe Biden wishes GOP leader Steve Scalise a speedy recovery from cancer
The White House said President Biden called House Majority Leader Steve Scalise to express his best wishes for a speedy recovery as the Louisiana Republican battles multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer.
The administration said the call took place on Tuesday afternoon, but did not say more.
Mr Scalise said on Tuesday that after not feeling like himself for a week, he had blood tests which resulted in a diagnosis of “very treatable” cancer. He has started treatment but will continue to work and plans to return to Washington.
Multiple myeloma is a type of blood cancer that forms in plasma cells and collects in the bone marrow, according to the Mayo Clinic. Treatment options include bone marrow transplants, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy.
“Obviously, this is devastating news. Our hearts and prayers go out to the congressman and his family,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday in response to the diagnosis. “Obviously he’s been through a lot in the last two years.”
Mr. Scalise was shot and seriously injured in an assassination attempt by a supporter of progressive Senator Bernard Sanders during a baseball practice in Congress in 2017.
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Mr. Sanders, an independent from Vermont, condemned the shooting from the Senate, and Mr. Scalise returned to the House a few months later.
• Alex Miller contributed to this report.
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