WASHINGTON, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Elijah E. Cummings, chair of the U.S. House Oversight and Reform Committee who led multiple investigations into President Donald Trump and his administration, died early Thursday at the age of 68, his office said in a statement.
The Maryland Democrat died at Gilchrist Hospice Care, which is affiliated with Johns Hopkins Hospital, at about 2:30 a.m. local time (0630 GMT) from "complications concerning longstanding health challenges," said the statement.
As chair of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, Cummings was widely seen as one of the most powerful Democrats in Washington and a key figure in the House Democrats' ongoing efforts to impeach Trump.
"I was shocked and saddened to learn the news this morning of my dear friend's passing," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a fellow Maryland Democrat, said in a statement.
"My warmest condolences to the family and many friends of Congressman Elijah Cummings," Trump tweeted. "I got to see first hand the strength, passion and wisdom of this highly respected political leader. His work and voice on so many fronts will be very hard, if not impossible, to replace!"
Cummings represented parts of Baltimore, where he was born on Jan. 18, 1951 and grew up as a son of a sharecropper.
He was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 1983, where he served until 1996 and in 1995 became the first African-American to serve as speaker pro tempore, according to local media reports. He was elected to the House of Representatives in a 1996 special election.
As a former chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Cummings was outspoken on civil rights.
His wife Maya Rockeymoore Cummings is chairwoman of the Maryland Democratic Party.
