Steve Scalise: Jefferson Parish to the House Floor

Jefferson Parish to the House Floor

Stephen Joseph Scalise was born on October 6, 1965, in New Orleans, Louisiana, to a family with roots tracing back to Italian immigrants who arrived in the late 1800s. He grew up in Jefferson Parish, attended Archbishop Rummel High School, and earned a degree from LSU with majors in computer science and political science — a combination that tells you he was built for the modern Republican Party before the modern Republican Party existed.

Scalise entered the Louisiana House of Representatives in 1996 at thirty years old and served there for over a decade before a brief stint in the State Senate. In 2008, he won election to the U.S. House representing Louisiana's 1st Congressional District — the seat that covers the suburban parishes around New Orleans, the North Shore, and parts of the city itself. He hasn't lost since.

The Rise to Leadership

Scalise climbed the Republican leadership ladder methodically. He chaired the Republican Study Committee, became House Majority Whip in 2014, and eventually rose to House Majority Leader. For a kid from Jefferson Parish, reaching the second-highest position in the U.S. House of Representatives is a remarkable political ascent — the kind of career that would be the whole story for most politicians.

Alexandria, June 14, 2017

But Scalise's story has a chapter that nobody would have written for him. On June 14, 2017, while practicing for the Congressional Baseball Game at a field in Alexandria, Virginia, a gunman opened fire on Republican members of Congress. Scalise was shot in the hip. The wound was severe — he was in critical condition and underwent multiple surgeries. He spent months recovering. On September 28, 2017, he walked back onto the House floor to a standing ovation from both sides of the aisle.

In 2023, Scalise announced a diagnosis of multiple myeloma, a blood cancer he described as highly treatable. He began chemotherapy while continuing to serve. Shot on a baseball field, diagnosed with cancer, and still showing up to work — Steve Scalise brought Jefferson Parish toughness to Washington and proved that New Orleans people don't quit.