The US congressman shot Wednesday at a baseball practice in suburban Washington is hospitalized in stable condition, his office said hours after the attack that wounded five people.

"He is in stable condition" at a Washington hospital after being shot in the hip, the office of Steve Scalise, the number three Republican in the House of Representatives, said in a statement.

"Prior to entering surgery, (Scalise) was in good spirits and spoke to his wife by phone," it added.