Scalise, No. 2 House GOP leader, endorses Trump

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), the No. 2 Republican in the House, endorsed former President Trump in his 2024 presidential bid Tuesday.

“I am proud to endorse Donald Trump for president in 2024, and I look forward to working with President Trump and a Republican House and Senate to fight for those families who are struggling under the weight of Biden’s failed policies,” Scalise wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

In a statement reported by Fox News, Scalise focused on migration issues at the southern border and economic metrics during Trump’s first term in office.

“The economy was strong and interest rates were low — grocery costs were affordable, and families could afford to buy a house and provide for their children,” Scalise said in the statement. “The border was secure and crime was down. America had secure energy policies, keeping gas and utility prices low.”

And he hit President Biden on border enforcement.

“Fiscal Year 2023 surpassed Fiscal Year 2022 as the worst year at the border with the most migrant encounters on record, 169 individuals on the terrorist watchlist apprehended attempting to enter illegally, and over 27,000 pounds of fentanyl seized by the CPB,” Scalise said. “In Joe Biden’s America, our communities aren’t safe.”

Scalise’s endorsement comes two weeks before the Iowa Republican Caucuses, the first presidential contest in the GOP primary race that Trump is dominating.

He joins fellow House Republican leaders Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) in endorsing the former president.