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U.S. Representative Elijah E. Cummings, a Democratic congressman from Maryland, died early Thursday morning at Gilchrist Hospice Care, a Johns Hopkins affiliate in Baltimore. He was 68.
Cummings was one of the most influential Democrats in Congress who gained national attention for his convictions on politically charged issues. He was a key figure in the current Impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump and often an outspoken critic of his administration.
The cause of death was listed as “complications concerning longstanding health challenges,” his office said in a statement. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Cummings had been absent recently from Congress due to health concerns, including problems with his heart and knee.
According to the Washington Post, Mr. Cummings was born to a family of Southern sharecroppers and Baptist preachers, he grew up in the racially fractured Baltimore of the 1950s and 1960s, and at the age of 11, he helped to integrate a local swimming pool while being attacked with bottles and rocks.
In the Maryland House of Delegates, he was the youngest chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus and the first African American to serve as speaker pro tempore, which is the member who presides in the speaker’s absence.
In 1996, he won the seat in the U.S. House of Representatives that Kweisi Mfume (D) vacated and became president of the NAACP. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
He went on to serve as chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus and as ranking Democrat and then chairman of what became the House Oversight and Reform Committee, which is currently involved in the impeachment inquiry of Trump.
Before the impeachment probe, Cummings’ committee had been investigating whether Trump used his office to enrich himself, his family, or his business holdings, including Trump hotels.
Fellow Maryland lawmaker U.S. Senator Ben Cardin said, “Cummings guaranteed a voice to so many who would otherwise not have one, and stood as a symbol for the heights one could reach if they paid no mind to obstacles, naysayers and hate.”
Some Republicans issued tributes, including Cummings’ oversight committee colleague Mark Meadows. “There was no stronger advocate and no better friend than Elijah Cummings,” he wrote on Twitter.
Trump tweeted his “warmest condolences,” saying: “I got to see firsthand 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!” he said on Twitter.
