WASHINGTON – House Majority Leader Steve Scalise is undergoing a stem cell transplant and will leave his Republican bloc in the House with almost no margin for error for about a month.
In August, the 58-year-old Scalise, R-Jefferson, began treatments for multiple myeloma, a rare blood cancer. He successfully completed chemotherapy in December.
“It has now been determined he is eligible for an autologous stem cell transplant. He is currently undergoing the transplant process, marking a significant milestone in his battle against cancer,” his office announced Friday afternoon.
An autologous stem cell transplant uses healthy blood stem cells from the patient's own body to replace bone marrow cells that have caused the cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute.
“A stem cell transplant can be a good treatment for multiple myeloma,” according to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. “A successful transplant gives someone with multiple myeloma new, healthy bone marrow. It replaces the bone marrow harmed by myeloma cells.”
Though technically called surgery, the procedure resembles a blood transfusion. The transplanted cells travel into the bone marrow. It takes a few weeks for the healthy blood cells to replace the damaged cells.
A hospital stay of up to three weeks is needed to protect against infections and bleeding, according to Sloan Kettering. Full recovery takes several months.
In the meantime, Scalise says he will work remotely from Louisiana. But that means he won’t be able to vote in the House, as the rules require representatives to be physically present.
Republicans currently hold 220 seats. A majority is 218. On Jan. 21, Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, is resigning to become president of Youngstown State University.
With Scalise out for January, that means Republicans have no votes to spare as House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, tries to insert GOP positions into bills dealing with border security, war funding for Ukraine and Israel, and appropriations to run federal government agencies. Failure to authorize appropriations would cause some agencies to shut down on Jan. 19, and others on Feb. 2.
Scalise is the No. 2 leader in the U.S. House after Johnson.
Just a few years ago a multiple myeloma diagnosis would have been seen as a death sentence. But recent medical advances have developed treatments that can arrest the growth of cancer cells, particularly if the disease is caught early.
Scalise said blood work in January 2023 didn’t show any cancer, but eight months later, lethargy led to doctors to look again, and the cancer was discovered. He was put on a regime of drugs to stop the cancerous cells from replicating and push out the white blood cells that protect against infections.
Scalise has expressed nothing but optimism about his treatments, saying repeatedly that he will be able to continue meeting the demands of serving in leadership. But many people around Washington have offered their own diagnoses.
In October, when Scalise was trying to nail down the last few Republican votes he needed to win election as speaker of the House, former President Donald Trump and some others said Scalise was too ill to serve as speaker. Then, the ex-president endorsed rival Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, over him.
Scalise, seeing he didn't have the votes, withdrew from consideration.
Scalise earlier this week endorsed Trump in the Republican presidential primaries, which kick off in Iowa in less than two weeks.