Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (1951-2019)

Maryland Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, a sharecropper’s son who rose to become a civil rights champion and the chairman of one of the U.S. House committees leading an impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump, died Thursday of complications from longstanding health problems. He was 68.

Section:Gallery

Thu., Oct. 17, 2019

In this Aug. 7, 2019 photo, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., speaks during a luncheon at the National Press Club in Washington. Cummings, a sharecropper's son who rose to become the powerful chairman of one of the U.S. House committees leading an impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump, died Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019, of complications from longstanding health issues. He was 68.

Patrick Semansky Associated Press
The House Oversight Committee Chairman's chair is draped in black cloth honoring Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019.

Pablo Martinez Monsivais Associated Press
In this April 29, 2015 photo, U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., encourages protesters to comply with the 10 p.m. curfew in Baltimore, after unrest over the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody. Cummings, a sharecropper's son who rose to become the powerful chairman of one of the U.S. House committees leading an impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump, died Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019, of complications from longstanding health issues. He was 68.

Matt Rourke Associated Press
In this 2004 photo, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., stands with U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Maryland, left, and Leadership Conference on Civli Rights Executive Director Wade Henderson, right, at a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education decision in Topeka, Kan. Cummings, a sharecropper's son who rose to become the powerful chairman of one of the U.S. House committees leading an impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump, died Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019, of complications from longstanding health issues. He was 68.

Charlie Neibergall Associated Press
In this Aug. 3, 2019 photo, Congressman Elijah Cummings speaks at the grand opening of the McCullough Street Nature Play Space in West Baltimore. Cummings, a sharecropper's son who rose to become the powerful chairman of a U.S. House committee that investigated President Donald Trump, died early Thursday, Oct. 17 of complications from longstanding health issues, his office said. He was 68.

Kim Hairston The Baltimore Sun
In this Aug. 7, 2019 photo, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., speaks during a luncheon at the National Press Club in Washington. U.S. Rep. Cummings has died from complications of longtime health challenges, his office said in a statement on Oct. 17, 2019.

Patrick Semansky Associated Press
In this Aug. 7, 2019 photo, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., speaks during a luncheon at the National Press Club in Washington. U.S. Rep. Cummings has died from complications of longtime health challenges, his office said in a statement on Oct. 17, 2019.

Patrick Semansky Associated Press
In this April 2, 2109 file photo, House Oversight and Reform Committee Chair Elijah Cummings, D-Md., leads a meeting to call for subpoenas after a career official in the White House security office says dozens of people in President Donald Trump's administration were granted security clearances despite "disqualifying issues" in their backgrounds, on Capitol Hill in Washington. U.S. Rep. Cummings has died from complications of longtime health challenges, his office said in a statement on Oct. 17, 2019.

J. Scott Applewhite Ap