Tribute to Elijah Cummings Unites a Divided Washington
Tribute to Elijah Cummings Unites a Divided Washington
(Bloomberg) -- Republicans and Democrats put partisanship on pause Thursday to remember Elijah Cummings, the widely revered Maryland congressman and chairman of the House Oversight Committee, who died Oct. 17.
Current and former lawmakers and party leaders paid tribute to the man they described as a trusted confidant, respected leader and the embodiment of the American dream. Previously scheduled impeachment hearings, led by the Oversight Committee and two other House panels, were canceled Thursday as Cummings laid in state in Statuary Hall at the Capitol.
“Elijah was truly a master of the House. He respected its history and in it he helped shape America’s future,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. “For the children, he wanted a future worthy of their aspirations and true to the values of America.”
Cummings, who represented a congressional district including part of Baltimore for 13 years, was a harsh critic of President Donald Trump, especially of policies that endangered immigrant children at the border and the Trump family’s business dealings. Trump went on a days-long Twitter tirade in July attacking Cummings and insulting his district.
Those conflicts were absent on Thursday, as speakers recognized Cummings for his dedication to his community as well as his leadership in Washington.
“He exuded such a rare quality. He was strong, very strong when necessary, but also calm and caring and honorable,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said. “Elijah Cummings never forgot where he came from and never lost sight of where he wanted his country to go.”
A funeral is scheduled for Friday in Baltimore, and former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama are set to be among the speakers.
Conducting Oversight
In his role as Oversight chairman, Cummings led investigations of the Trump administration’s failed effort to add a citizenship question to the 2020 U.S. Census, as well as alleged violations of the emoluments clause of the Constitution, which bars presidents from taking money from a foreign government.
His committee requested records from Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, and others to investigate their use of private texts and emails for official business. The panel also issued a subpoena earlier this year to get Trump’s accounting firm to turn over years of financial records, but that was blocked in court.
Though Cummings initially supported Pelosi’s reluctance to open impeachment proceedings against Trump, he eventually backed her decision to open a formal inquiry when information began emerging last month about the actions of Trump and his associates regarding Ukraine.
The first four weeks of impeachment hearings led by the House committees on Oversight, Intelligence and Foreign Affairs have taken place behind closed doors, a process Republicans criticized as unfair and politically motivated. In one of the most dramatic moments of the inquiry thus far, a group of about 30 Republicans on Wednesday occupied the secure hearing room where a Defense Department official was scheduled to testify.
That acrimony was momentarily put on hold Thursday as Republican members of Congress, together with Democrats, family and other well-known Washington faces, filed past the flag-draped coffin to pay their last respects to Cummings.
One of the most moving speeches came from North Carolina Republican Mark Meadows, who served on the Oversight Committee with Cummings and shared a famously close friendship despite the wide ideological difference between them.
“Perhaps this place and country would be better served with a few more unexpected friendships,” Meadows said. “I know I’ve been blessed by one.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Evan Sully in Washington at esully2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Anna Edgerton
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