'Rest in power': Tributes pour in for Elijah Cummings, who died at 68

Tributes and remembrances are pouring in for Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., who died Thursday of complications from what his office called “longstanding health challenges.” He was 68.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ordered flags at the U.S. Capitol lowered to half-staff in honor of Cummings, who served as the chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee.

Speaking to reporters at her weekly press conference, Pelosi mourned the loss of her “brother in Baltimore.”

House Oversight and Reform Committee Chair Elijah Cummings, D-Md., speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., in March. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Rep. Elijah Cummings at a hearing on Capitol Hill in March. (Photo: Jose Luis Magana/AP)

“He was considered our North Star,” Pelosi said. “He was a leader of towering character and integrity. He lived the American dream ... and he wanted it for everyone else. He spoke with unsurpassed clarity and moral integrity.

“He always used to say, ‘Our children are our living messengers to a future we will never see,’” she continued. “He wanted to be sure that future was going to be better for them and that they would bring with them our values.

“It’s very sad. We’ve all lost a friend,” Pelosi added. “I am devastated.”

President Trump was among those who expressed their condolences on Twitter.

As was former President Barack Obama.

Cummings’s congressional colleagues also posted tributes.

Republican Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina, one of Cummings’s closest friends, did as well.

Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” changed his Twitter avatar to a photo of Cummings, who officiated at Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski’s wedding ceremony in November 2018.

Cummings transcended the world of politics, as evidenced by the swath of celebrities paying him tribute.

His loss was felt in the city of Baltimore, which Cummings represented in Congress.

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