Members of Congress are in mourning following the sudden death of their revered colleague Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), who was remembered Thursday as a "friend to all."
Cummings died early Thursday morning due to "complications concerning longstanding health challenges," and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) described reading the news as a "gut punch."
"He was an amazing man," Schumer told MSNBC. "He was not just a great congressman. He was a great man. He had a combination of being strong when he had to be … but also being kind, and decent, and caring, and honorable."
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House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said that "today we have lost a giant," remembering Cummings as a "public servant to his core," while Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) called his death "a loss for Baltimore, Congress, and the country" and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said, "We've lost a leader like no other."
Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), who was close with Cummings, tweeted, "There was no stronger advocate and no better friend than Elijah Cummings ... I will miss him dearly." Cummings was "a friend to all," observed Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who noted that his "passion for serving his beloved city was easy to see in everything that he did, and his determination to fight for equality and civil rights will never be forgotten."
President Trump in a tweet offered his condolences and remembered Cummings' "strength, passion and wisdom."
The congressman's widow, Maryland Democratic Party Chair Maya Cummings, said in a statement, "He worked until his last breath because he believed our democracy was the highest and best expression of our collective humanity and that our nation's diversity was our promise, not our problem. It's been an honor to walk by his side on this incredible journey. I loved him deeply and will miss him dearly."
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