Elijah Cummings Democratic leader and key figure in Trump investigations dies age 68

Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, a Baltimore attorney and civil rights advocate who served in Maryland's legislature before representing the state in the U.S. House, where he took on a lead role in investigating President Trump, has died at 68.

After undergoing an unspecified medical procedure, the Democratic leader did not return to his office this week, the Baltimore Sun reported. A statement from his office said that he had passed away due to “complications concerning longstanding health challenges.” Mr. Cummings was chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee and a leading figure in the Trump impeachment inquiry.

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.
In a statement on Sept. 30, Cummings said his doctors expected him to be able to return to Washington "when the House comes back into session in two weeks." It said he'd be in "constant communication" with his staff and congressional colleagues while he was away.

President Trump has not yet commented on the unexpected death of Congressman Cummings someone who has clashed publicly with the President. Cummings was the chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, one of the panels involved in the impeachment inquiry of Trump.

Earlier this year, Trump tweeted disparaging remarks toward Cummings and his Maryland district, which includes much of Baltimore, calling the majority black district a "disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess." We have cameras ready should flags be ordered to lower at the White House.

As a prominent Democratic lawmaker, Cummings frequently found himself on the receiving end of Trump's Twitter account. In an infamous series of tweets in July, the president referred to Cumming's Baltimore district as "rat and rodent infested" and suggested that the congressman seldom goes there.