The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Powerful Democrat Cummings dies at 68
Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, of Maryland, was a central figure in the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump.
ep. Elijah E. Cummings of Maryland, a son of sharecroppers who rose to become one of the most powerful Democrats in Congress and a central figure in the impeachment investigation of President Donald Trump, died Thursday in Baltimore. He was 68.
His death was confirmed by a spokeswoman, Trudy Perkins, in a statement that said he died of “complications concerning long-standing health challenges.” No other details were given.
As chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, Cummings used sweeping power to investigate Trump and his administration.
A critical ally of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Cummings spent his final months in Congress sparring with the president, calling Trump’s effort to block congressional lines of inquiry “far worse than Watergate.”
Cummings was a compelling figure on Capitol Hill. For more than two decades, he represented a section of Baltimore with more than its share of social problems. He campaigned tirelessly for stricter gun control laws and help for those addicted to drugs.
When the president assailed Cummings’ district as “a disgusting, rat and rodent-infested mess” and “the worst run and most dangerous” city in the United States, the congressman vociferously defended his hometown.
Man behind the name
Elijah Eugene Cummings, the son of sharecroppers from South Carolina who moved north to improve prospects for themselves and their children, who would eventually number seven, was born in Baltimore on Jan. 18, 1951, and grew up in the city.
He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Howard University in Washington, where he was student government president, with a degree in political science.
He earned a law degree from the University of Maryland and was a practicing attorney while serving for 14 years in the Maryland House of Delegates, where he was the first African American in the state’s history to be named speaker pro tem.
He served in Congress since winning a special election in 1996 to fill the seat vacated by Kweisi Mfume, who resigned to become president of the NAACP. Cummings’ 7th District includes most of West Baltimore and suburbs west of the city. He was in his 13th term.