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Democrat Cummings, at center of Trump inquiry, dies at 68
WASHINGTON, Oct 17, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Senior Democratic Congressman
Elijah Cummings, who was at the center of the Trump impeachmentinquiry, died
Thursday at the age of 68, his office said.
The veteran Baltimore representative passed away at Johns Hopkins
Hospital “due to complications concerning longstanding health challenges,” a
statement from his office said without giving the cause of death.
As the highly respected chairman of the House Oversight and Reform
Committee, Cummings — a big man with a booming voice and gift for oratory —
was at the center of the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump and
had clashed with him repeatedly in recent months.
That panel is one of three probing whether Trump pressured Ukraine to
dig up dirt on Joe Biden and help the president win re-election next year.
Cummings had also supervised probes into issues including the Trump
administration’s treatment of migrants at the border with Mexico and its
effort to include a question about citizenship in next year’s census.
In July, the president described Baltimore as a “rat and rodent infested
mess” unfit for humans and blamed it on Cummings, an African-American
Democrat who has represented much of the majority-black city in Congress
since 1996. Trump suggested Cummings spend more time there.
Cummings wrote in response, “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. But, it is
my moral duty to fight for my constituents.”
Cummings, a son of sharecroppers, was one of the most powerful Democrats
in Congress and a key ally of House speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The Baltimore Sun said he was “known for his devotion to Baltimore and
civil rights, and for blunt and passionate speechmaking.”
It said he had particularly resented Trump’s tweet that four
congresswomen of color should “go back” to their countries.
Since winning his seat in 1996, Cummings never faced a serious challenge
for it. He was also an early supporter of Barack Obama’s drive to become
America’s first black president.
Cummings, one of seven children, was the son of South Carolina
sharecroppers who moved north to improve their lot in life. He earned a
degree in political science and later a law degree.
Tributes to Cummings quickly poured in from Congress.
“We lost a giant today. Congressman Elijah Cummings was a fearless
leader, a protector of democracy, and a fighter for the people of Maryland.
Our world is dimmer without him in it,” Democratic presidential candidate
Kamala Harris wrote.
“He was an amazing man,” said Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.
“He had a combination of being strong when he had to be, and had to be
quite often, but also being kind and decent and caring and humble,” Schumer
said.
BSS/AFP/BZC/1915HRS