Boehner on Scalise: ‘I know what’s in his heart’

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Wednesday defended Majority Whip Steve Scalise from criticism over his speech to a white supremacist group more than a decade ago, saying he knows “what’s in his heart.”

Taking questions about the controversy for the first time, Boehner said he accepted Scalise’s (R-La.) explanation that he was understaffed as a state legislator and did not vet the David Duke-affiliated group beforehand. Boehner too had been a state lawmaker.

{mosads}“I remember my freshman term in the state legislature when I had a half of a staffer. You get asked to speak to a lot of groups and I think Mr. Scalise made it clear that he made an error in judgment, and spoke to a group not clear who they actually were,” Boehner said at a news conference with Scalise standing nearby.  

“I know this man. I work with him. I know what’s in his heart,” the Speaker added. “He’s a decent honest person who made a mistake. We’ve all made mistakes.”

Scalise also was on defense after reporters asked two questions about whether he sympathized with the racist views of Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan leader and Louisiana politician.

“I reject bigotry of all forms,” Scalise replied, echoing past statements he’s made about the scandal. “The people who know me best, both here and especially back home, even people I’ve been on opposite ends politically with, know the truth and know what’s in my heart.”

Scalise, the No. 3 Republican in House leadership, took over the whip job last summer after Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) was ousted in his primary race and then-Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was elected majority leader.