GIANT OF THE HOUSE
Cummings, longtime Md. pol, dies at 68
Rep. Elijah Cummings, the longtime Democratic congressman from Maryland known for his gentile manner and outspoken devotion to civil rights, died on Thursday from ongoing health issues. He was 68.
He had been absent from Capitol Hill in recent weeks while recovering from an unspecified procedure at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in his hometown, Baltimore.
Cummings “was an honorable man who proudly served his district and the nation with dignity, integrity, compassion and humility,” his wife, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, said in a statement.
“He worked until his last breath because he believed our democracy was the highest and best expression of our collective humanity and that our nation’s diversity was our promise, not our problem.”
Born in Baltimore in 1951 to a family of sharecroppers and Baptist preachers, he was inspired at age 10 by the legal TV-show “Perry Mason” to pursue a career in law, although a gradeschool counselor once told him he was too slow to learn and spoke too poorly to make it.
He graduated with honors from Howard University in Washington, then from the University of Maryland School of Law. After joining a small law firm, he set his sights on a role as a public servant.
First serving as a state delegate, he was elected to the House in 1996, eventually becoming the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus and ranking Democrat, then chairman the House Oversight and Reform Committee.
A formidable orator, Cummings passionately advocated for the poor in his black-majority district, which covers a large portion of Baltimore as well as more well-to-do suburbs.
He was plagued by health issues in recent years and in 2017 underwent an aortic-valve replacement that kept him in the hospital longer than expected.
By 2019, he was the face of the investigations into President Trump’s government dealings.
Trump criticized Cummings’ district as a “rodent-infested mess” where “no human being would want to live.”
In response, Cummings called on government officials to stop making “hateful, incendiary comments” that distract from real problems.
On Thursday, Trump ordered flags at the White House and other federal buildings to be flown at half-staff through Friday in Cummings’ honor.
“I got to see first hand the strength, passion and wisdom of this highly respected political leader. His work and voice on so many fronts will be very hard, if not impossible, to replace!” Trump tweeted.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi began her weekly press conference on Thursday by saying she was “devastated” by the loss of Cummings, calling him “our North Star” in her chamber.
“He was a leader of towering character and integrity, whose stirring voice and steadfast values pushed the Congress and country to rise always to a higher purpose,” Pelosi said.
In his message, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said “Cummings was not just a great congressman, but a great man.”
Former President Barack Obama said Cummings “showed us all not only the importance of checks and balances within our democracy, but also the necessity of good people stewarding it.”