National

A ballgame of unity, spirit, friendly rivalry, won by Dems

WASHINGTON — Republicans and Democrats joined in a spirited, friendly rivalry at their annual Congressional Baseball game, many fresh from the penetrating horror of the ballfield shooting rampage a day earlier and all playing in honor of their grievously wounded colleague.

The game at Nationals Park on Thursday evening carried on a century-old bipartisan ritual, this one tinged with worry about Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise and the players' determination to answer the attack by coming together in sport. Democrats won in an 11-2 blowout.

In a final flourish of bipartisan camaraderie for the night, Democratic Rep. Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania, his team's manager, accepted the trophy, then gave it to his GOP counterpart, Rep. Joe Barton of Texas, to put in Scalise's office on behalf of the Democrats. After accepting it gracefully, Barton cracked, "Next year we won't be so nice."

A huge ovation came from the crowd, which swelled to a record 24,959, when Special Agent David Bailey, one of the Capitol Police officers injured in the attack on Republicans at their ball practice in Virginia, threw out the first pitch. "ONE FAMILY," proclaimed a sign in the crowd. The announcer's mention of Scalise, the House majority whip who was critically wounded in the attack Wednesday, brought the masses to their feet.

Scalise remained listed in critical condition Thursday night after multiple surgeries, though word came from the hospital during the game that he had improved.

"By playing tonight we are showing the world that we will not be intimidated by threats, acts of violence or assaults on our democracy," said President Donald Trump, appearing on the park's giant screen but not attending. "The game will go on."

When the president intoned three words he said have brought Americans together for generations - "Let's play ball" - cheers rang out. But despite the unifying nature of the event, there were boos for the president, too, from the section for Democratic fans on the third base side.

Before the event, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi told reporters, "Tonight we will go to the game, play our hardest, but we will all be Team Scalise."

Republican Rep. Chuck Fleischmann of Tennessee scored in the first inning, enjoying a different sort of adrenaline than the one he experienced Wednesday when he passed by the shooter over bloodied ground to take shelter in a dugout - confessing later that "the fear factor was horrific."

On that day, a man later identified as the attacker approached Rep. Jeff Duncan of South Carolina in the parking lot of the Alexandria, Virginia, ballfield, asking him, "Excuse me, sir, who's practicing today, Democrats or Republicans?" as Duncan recalls the encounter. He said Republicans were on the field, shortly before the gunman began shooting at them.

Duncan found that memory hard to shake Thursday night as he stood in for Scalise at second base.

"That was tough for me," Duncan said. "That was humbling in a way. It was never off my mind when I ran out there ... the reason I was going to second base was Steve Scalise, my colleague, was fighting for his life in the hospital right now."

Rep. Roger Williams of Texas, taken away in a stretcher with an injured ankle from the chaos in Virginia, hobbled around the third-base box Thursday night, coaching the GOP team as planned, with his crutches set aside. He wore a purple boot. His aide, Zack Barth, who was shot by the Virginia assailant, walked across the field on crutches. Both had appeared on the House floor earlier Thursday.

Scalise was fielding balls at second base during the practice Wednesday when he was shot in the hip, and sustained serious injuries as the bullet traveled through his pelvis and injured internal organs.

The congressional game, which dates to 1909 and is a summertime tradition on Capitol Hill, is a rare example of bipartisanship in an increasingly polarized Washington. Long-ago Little Leaguers now in Congress don their spikes and dust off their gloves in a game played for claiming top dog status and to benefit several charities.

The charities are the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Washington, Washington Literacy Center, the Washington Nationals Dream Foundation and, after Wednesday's shooting, the Capitol Police Memorial Fund.

Scalise has more surgery as authorities track shooter's path

Still in critical condition and undergoing repeated surgery, GOP House Whip Steve Scalise "will be in the hospital for some time," according to the facility where he is recovering from a gunshot. His House colleagues paid tribute to him at their annual charity baseball game, while law enforcement tracked the path the shooter traveled to his ballfield carnage.

Investigators studying Wednesday's attack at a suburban Virginia park said shooter James Hodgkinson had obtained his rifle and handgun from licensed firearms dealers. Capitol Police said they had "no evidence to suggest that the purchases were not lawful."

Hodgkinson, a Belleville, Illinois, home inspector who had been living out of his van near the park, had a social media page filled with criticism of Republicans and the Trump administration. He died after officers in Scalise's security detail fired back at him.

The FBI said it was investigating the shooter's "activities and social media impressions" in the months leading up to the attack. Authorities also were going over a cellphone, computer and camera taken from Hodgkinson's white van, which was parked near the ballfield.

So far, investigators have not linked Hodgkinson to any radical groups, said a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.

As congressional Republicans and Democrats joined Thursday night in their annual baseball game, played this year in Scalise's honor, word came from the hospital that he remained in critical condition, but had "improved in the last 24 hours."

MedStar Washington Hospital Center said Scalise had surgery Thursday related to his internal injuries and a broken bone in his leg, and "will require additional operations."

Colleagues who visited Scalise sounded generally upbeat, but spoke more in terms of hopes than the confident predictions of the immediate aftermath a day earlier.

Democrat Cedric Richmond, a fellow Louisiana congressman, said as many others did that Scalise is a fighter. "I'm prayerful he will pull through, and I hope he does," he said.

Scalise was fielding ground balls at second base Wednesday when he was shot at a practice for the annual Republicans-Democrats baseball game. Richmond , who plays for the Democratic team, said he had visited the hospital multiple times.

Scalise, 51, suffered a rifle wound in his left hip that shattered bones, tore organs and caused severe bleeding. He is the House's No. 3 GOP leader.

"He's in some trouble," said President Donald Trump, who had visited late Wednesday. "He's going to be OK. We hope."

Scalise was among five people wounded when a shooter sprayed rifle fire at congressional Republicans practicing on a diamond in suburban Alexandria, Va.

Also hurt but released from hospitals were two Capitol Police officers, David Bailey and Crystal Griner, and House GOP aide Zack Barth. Lobbyist Matt Mika was shot multiple times and critically injured and remained hospitalized.

Bailey received a hero's welcome from a record crowd of nearly 25,000 at Thursday's game when he threw out the first pitch. Unity was the theme of the spirited rivalry; Democrats won in an 11-2 blowout.

Following a day that saw most congressional business canceled, the House approved legislation offering health insurance tax credits to some veterans while committees pondered federal land management, cybersecurity and more. The Capitol's usual partisan combativeness, though not absent, was less pointed than usual, and warm words were exchanged between some lawmakers with starkly opposing political philosophies.

"There is so much you do that I disagree with," House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, a staunch conservative, told his panel's top Democrat, unwavering liberal Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif. "But you have long since earned my respect, and you deserve to be heard, and you are an honorable individual."

Addressing Scalise, Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., said, "You are not alone. ... We love you." Lewis led a House floor Democratic sit-in last year when Republicans refused to consider gun control legislation.

Members of both parties said they needed to soften rhetorical attacks on each other, if only to set a better example for a public that seems increasingly divided into hostile political camps. It's a sentiment lawmakers frequently express after mass shootings or terrorist attacks, only to see their sharp oratorical elbows gradually return.

Underscoring the day's mood, the Rev. Patrick Conroy, the House chaplain, opened the day by seeking divine forgiveness "when we seem to forget that words matter and can become seeds that will bring bitter harvest."

Still, finger-pointing lingered as some on each side suggested the other had contributed more to the disparaging broadsides they've increasingly aimed at each other.

Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, said in a brief interview that Democrats would be reminded of "positions they've taken in the past that are not consistent with their voice for bipartisanship today."

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., recounted candidate Trump's comments prodding supporters to pummel demonstrators at rallies and said Republicans were being "sanctimonious."

The shooting prompted talk of improving security for lawmakers, most of whom are unaccompanied by officers in their normal day-to-day pursuits. Some have suggested using federal money to provide security cameras in their offices, while others spoke of a need for protection when groups of them appear in public.

The House used a voice vote Thursday to approve a resolution lauding the Capitol Police for protecting lawmakers and stating that "violence has no place" in society. A reading of the measure received a standing ovation.