Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings Dies at 68
The Democrat had represented Maryland's 7th congressional district since 1996
Rep. Elijah Cummings, a Maryland Democrat who served in the House of Representatives for decades and often went toe-to-toe with President Donald Trump, died on Thursday, according to a statement from his office that was obtained by PEOPLE. He was 68.
According to the statement, Cummings — who was also a civil rights leader — died at 2:30 a.m. local time at Gilchrist Hospice Care, a Johns Hopkins affiliate in Baltimore, after “complications concerning longstanding health challenges.” The Baltimore Sun reported that he had recently undergone an unspecified medical procedure and had not returned to his office this week as was expected.
The politician had represented Maryland’s 7th congressional district since 1996, after being a member of the state’s House of Delegates for over a decade prior. Recently, he had served as the Chair of the House Oversight Committee, helping to oversee the impeachment inquiry into President Trump.
Cummings recently made headlines this summer after the president attacked the congressman by calling his district, which includes much of Baltimore, a “very dangerous & filthy place.”
In response, Cummings tweeted: “Mr. President, I go home to my district daily. Each morning, I wake up, and I go and fight for my neighbors.”
“It is my constitutional duty to conduct oversight of the Executive Branch,” he continued. “But, it is my moral duty to fight for my constituents.”
According to the Washington Post, Cummings grew up in Baltimore in a family of sharecroppers and Baptist preachers.
The newspaper reports that, during his time in Maryland’s House of Delegates, he became the youngest chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus and was also the first African American to serve as speaker pro tempore.
After being elected to the House of Representatives in 1996, he served as chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus before becoming the the Chair of the House Oversight Committee, according to the Post.
According to WBAL-TV, Cummings’ widow, Maryland Democratic Party Chair Dr. Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, released a statement that said: “Congressman Cummings was an honorable man who proudly served his district and the nation with dignity, integrity, compassion and humility.”
“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. It has been an honor to walk by his side on this incredible journey. I loved him deeply and will miss him dearly,” she said.