Free Republic

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) said it’s unclear whether lawmakers can reach a bipartisan deal on gun legislation following a meeting with fellow Republican leaders at the White House on Tuesday. The Louisiana Republican said while "good faith negotiations and conversations" are taking place between parties and chambers, he doesn’t feel the bills Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has advocated for the Senate to take up would prevent future instances of mass violence. Scalise said Tuesday’s talks centered around both potential new measures aimed at preventing future shootings and improving the implementation of current laws. "We talked about some of...

Washington — Some political campaigns are marathons, but for U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, of Jefferson, this one has been more of a sprint — and it ends Thursday afternoon when he finds out if he will take over the No. 3 spot in the ruling House Republican majority. That spot — majority whip — would represent the highest any Louisiana Republican has climbed in the U.S. House leadership (although one of his 1st Congressional District predecessors, Bob Livingston, came within an extramarital indiscretion of landing the top job of House speaker in 1998). The constituency for the leadership election is...