Elijah Cummings funeral: ‘It now falls on us to continue his work.’
For nearly four hours, 4,000 people, including two former U.S. presidents, mourned the longtime Democratic lawmaker, the son of sharecroppers who rose from South Baltimore to Congress.
“Elijah Cummings was a man of noble and good heart,” said former president Barack Obama, who sat in the front row of New Psalmist Baptist Church with Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, the congressman’s widow; Bill and Hillary Clinton; and former vice president Joe Biden, a 2020 presidential candidate. “And it now falls on us to continue his work.”
The service — sometimes joyous, sometimes solemn and sometimes funny — offered up a noble vision of public service, in which elected officials collaborate and compromise to serve the public good. With political figures of both parties in attendance, it was a far different atmosphere from the bitterly divided impeachment inquiry unfolding 50 miles away in Washington.
Obama, Hillary Clinton and Rockeymoore Cummings hinted at the contrast.
“This was a man of the utmost integrity! Do you hear me? He had integrity. And he cared about our democracy!” said Rockeymoore Cummings, the chair of the Maryland Democratic Party, her voice cracking slightly. “He wanted to make sure that we left a society worthy of our children.”
Addressing Hillary Clinton, a former secretary of state and the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, Rockeymoore Cummings recalled that her husband used his leadership position to support the Obama administration during the Benghazi hearings.
“Oh my goodness. He spent many an hour defending you, against spurious claims,” Rockeymoore Cummings said.
When Democrats took control of the House last year, Cummings became chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform “and now he had to go on to actually work to fight for the soul of our democracy against very real corruption,” she said.
As Oversight Committee chairman, Cummings spearheaded investigations into the Trump White House, vigorously opposed the separation of migrant children from their parents at the southern border and worked to keep a citizenship question off the 2020 Census.
While he maintained strong friendships with Republicans in Congress as well as with Democrats, he at times was targeted by the White House. This summer, President Trump attacked Cummings’s beloved Baltimore as a crime-plagued, “rat-infested” city, wondering why anyone would want to live there.
The remarks “hurt” Cummings, his widow told mourners Friday, and made the final months of his life more difficult.
Trump struck a different tone on Friday, speaking at a criminal justice reform forum in South Carolina before a predominantly African American audience.
“I want to extend my warmest condolences to the friends and family of Elijah Cummings, who are celebrating his life today in Baltimore,” he said, recalling conversations with Cummings about lowering the price of prescription drugs. “He had a very strong passion for that. We’re going to get it done. . . . I want to give my warmest respects, please.”
“This is a title that we confer on all kinds of people who get elected to public office,” Obama said, drawing out some laughter. “But Elijah Cummings was honorable before he was elected to Congress. . . . As president, I could always count on Elijah being honorable and doing the right thing.”
Mourners began lining up at New Psalmist hours before the funeral and a viewing that preceded it. By 7 a.m., traffic was backed up a half-mile.
During the service, gospel singer BeBe Winans performed, and a parade of speakers — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), former congressman and former NAACP chief Kweisi Mfume, former staffer Jon Alexander, friends and mentors — honored all aspects of Cummings’s life.
Jennifer Cummings, 37, said her father was forever amazed that he could hold her in one hand when she was born. “This life, my life, in your hand,” she said.
For nearly four hours, 4,000 people, including two former U.S. presidents, mourned the longtime Democratic lawmaker, the son of sharecroppers who rose from South Baltimore to Congress.
“Elijah Cummings was a man of noble and good heart,” said former president Barack Obama, who sat in the front row of New Psalmist Baptist Church with Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, the congressman’s widow; Bill and Hillary Clinton; and former vice president Joe Biden, a 2020 presidential candidate. “And it now falls on us to continue his work.”
The service — sometimes joyous, sometimes solemn and sometimes funny — offered up a noble vision of public service, in which elected officials collaborate and compromise to serve the public good. With political figures of both parties in attendance, it was a far different atmosphere from the bitterly divided impeachment inquiry unfolding 50 miles away in Washington.
Obama, Hillary Clinton and Rockeymoore Cummings hinted at the contrast.
“This was a man of the utmost integrity! Do you hear me? He had integrity. And he cared about our democracy!” said Rockeymoore Cummings, the chair of the Maryland Democratic Party, her voice cracking slightly. “He wanted to make sure that we left a society worthy of our children.”
Addressing Hillary Clinton, a former secretary of state and the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, Rockeymoore Cummings recalled that her husband used his leadership position to support the Obama administration during the Benghazi hearings.
“Oh my goodness. He spent many an hour defending you, against spurious claims,” Rockeymoore Cummings said.
When Democrats took control of the House last year, Cummings became chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform “and now he had to go on to actually work to fight for the soul of our democracy against very real corruption,” she said.
As Oversight Committee chairman, Cummings spearheaded investigations into the Trump White House, vigorously opposed the separation of migrant children from their parents at the southern border and worked to keep a citizenship question off the 2020 Census.
While he maintained strong friendships with Republicans in Congress as well as with Democrats, he at times was targeted by the White House. This summer, President Trump attacked Cummings’s beloved Baltimore as a crime-plagued, “rat-infested” city, wondering why anyone would want to live there.
The remarks “hurt” Cummings, his widow told mourners Friday, and made the final months of his life more difficult.
Trump struck a different tone on Friday, speaking at a criminal justice reform forum in South Carolina before a predominantly African American audience.
“I want to extend my warmest condolences to the friends and family of Elijah Cummings, who are celebrating his life today in Baltimore,” he said, recalling conversations with Cummings about lowering the price of prescription drugs. “He had a very strong passion for that. We’re going to get it done. . . . I want to give my warmest respects, please.”
“This is a title that we confer on all kinds of people who get elected to public office,” Obama said, drawing out some laughter. “But Elijah Cummings was honorable before he was elected to Congress. . . . As president, I could always count on Elijah being honorable and doing the right thing.”
Mourners began lining up at New Psalmist hours before the funeral and a viewing that preceded it. By 7 a.m., traffic was backed up a half-mile.
During the service, gospel singer BeBe Winans performed, and a parade of speakers — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), former congressman and former NAACP chief Kweisi Mfume, former staffer Jon Alexander, friends and mentors — honored all aspects of Cummings’s life.
Jennifer Cummings, 37, said her father was forever amazed that he could hold her in one hand when she was born. “This life, my life, in your hand,” she said.
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