House Majority Leader Steve Scalise has a 'very treatable' blood cancer

• The House's second-highest ranking Republican said he intends to continue working as he receives treatment and will return to Washington, D.C.
• In a statement Tuesday, Scalise said he received the diagnosis after he had felt off and had blood work done.
• In 2017, Scalise was shot in the hip while practicing for the annual Congressional Baseball Game, rupturing several organs.

U.S. House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) listens during a press conference following a House Republican Conference meeting at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., July 18, 2023.

Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, which he called "a very treatable blood cancer."

The Louisiana Republican underwent tests after "not feeling like myself this past week," he said in a statement. "I have now begun treatment, which will continue for the next several months."

Scalise, 57, said he intends to continue working as he receives treatment and will return to Washington, D.C., but did not say precisely when.

Congress is slated to return to the U.S. Capitol after Labor Day for a busy month.

This isn't the first time Scalise has dealt with a major health scare.

In 2017, he was one of six people injured in a mass shooting in Alexandria, Virginia, during a team practice for the annual Congressional Baseball Game.

Scalise was shot in the hip and the bullet ruptured several organs. He underwent months of surgeries and blood transfusions on the way to recovery.