Elijah Cummings, Congressional Representative for Maryland’s 7^th Congressional District since 1996 and chairman of the House Oversight Committee during the 116^th Congress, has passed away at age 68 on the 17th of October at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

In 1983 Cummings was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates, 39^th District. Representative Cummings pushed for improved visibility of African Americans when he pushed for further Civil Rights actions to be taken by the state. In 1996 he ran for the vacated 7^th Congressional district, which he won following a 7-way primary, in the mostly black and democratic house district. He never had less than 69% of the vote for any general election for the 11 times he was reelected. Starting in the 112^th Congress, he was the ranking member for the House Oversight Committee where, once the Democrats won the 116^th Congressional House race, he became the Chairman. With this newfound power and over the last 10 months of his life he became a staple of congressional subpoenas and their subsequent testimonies.

He is survived by his wife of 10 years Maya Cummings, and his 3 children before his marriage to Maya Cummings. He predeceased his nephew Christopher Cummings.