Rep.
Elijah Cummings, a longtime
Maryland Democrat and key figure leading investigations into President
Donald Trump, has died at age 68, his office announced early Thursday morning.
He died of "complications concerning longstanding health challenges," his office said in a statement.
The congressman, who had represented Maryland's 7th Congressional District since 1996, served as the chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, one of the panels involved in the impeachment inquiry of Trump.
He oversaw a range of investigations into the Trump administration, from issues relating to the impeachment inquiry to the treatment of migrants at the southern border to the use of personal email for official use by White House officials to how a citizenship question was considered for the US census.
And it was his committee that grilled Trump's former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, in a blockbuster hearing this past February.
It was not immediately clear who will succeed Cummings as chairman of the Oversight Committee or how his passing will affect the swirling impeachment investigation into Trump. The House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee will nominate a new chairman to fill the vacancy before the full House votes to confirm the pick. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will have a major say on who the next chair will be.
A senior Democratic leadership aide said Thursday that Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney of New York "becomes Acting Chair as number two in seniority on the committee. The caucus process to elect a permanent Chair will be announced at a later time."
Cummings had been in failing health in recent weeks. He had been in and out of the hospital, missing votes and business in his committee. He was spotted several times with a breathing tube in his nose connected to oxygen while sitting on the House floor. When speaking to reporters, he would have to wait for 15 to 20 seconds or so to catch his breath before speaking. He would drive around on a motorized wheelchair through the Capitol and then walk in using a walker.
Although he was chairman of the Oversight Committee, he had not been in command of the investigations on his panel. His staff did a lion's share of the work and his staff has been helping lead the charge in the impeachment inquiry.
Still, Cummings' death left a noticeable impact on lawmakers from both parties on Capitol Hill Thursday morning. Pelosi appeared visibly emotional as she started her weekly press conference.
"In the Congress, Elijah was considered a north star," Pelosi said, referring to Cummings as "my brother in Baltimore." "He was a leader of towering character and integrity. He lived the American dream. "
Pelosi said that Cummings "spoke with unsurpassed clarity and moral integrity," adding "everyone wanted to hear what Elijah had to say. That was the case in Congress, in his committee and in the country."