A Maryland Democrat Rep. Elijah Cummings dies at 68 due to health complications

Maryland Rep. Elijah E. Cummings a Democrat died early Thursday at Johns Hopkins Hospital due to complications from longstanding health challenges, his congressional office said. Rep. Elijah Cummings was 68.

Cummings of Baltimore died at 2:45 a.m. of “complications concerning longstanding health challenges,” said a statement from his office. Cummings hasn’t returned to work since having a medical procedure that he said would only keep him away for about a week.

Cummings had represented Maryland's 7th Congressional District since 1996 and was at the center of the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, in his role as House Oversight Committee Chairman.

He missed two roll call votes Thursday, the first day back following a two-week recess. He previously released a statement saying he’d be back by the time the session resumed. The 68-year-old hasn’t taken part in a roll call vote since Sept. 11.

A sharecropper's son, Cummings became the powerful chairman of a U.S. House committee that investigated President Donald Trump, and was a formidable orator who passionately advocated for the poor in his black-majority district, which encompasses a large portion of Baltimore as well as more well-to-do suburbs.

The procedure had caused Cummings to miss a September hearing on Washington, D.C., statehood. His statement didn't detail the procedure. He previously was treated for heart and knee issues. In May 2017, Rep. Cummings had heart surgery and developed an infection two months later.

His biography also said he was an active member of New Psalmist Baptist Church and was married to Dr. Maya Rockeymoore Cummings.