Congress Bids Farewell to Cummings, a ‘Master of the House’

Guests pay respects to the late Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) as his remains lie in state outside the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol Oct. 24, 2019 in Washington, DC. Tom Williams-Pool/Getty Images

WASHINGTON—Members of Congress bid a tearful farewell Oct. 24 to Rep. Elijah Cummings, hailing the son of sharecroppers as a “master of the House” as the Maryland Democrat became the first African American lawmaker to lie in state in the U.S. Capitol.

Lawmakers eulogized Cummings as a mentor and close friend, with a voice that could “shake mountains,” in the words of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and a passion for justice and his hometown of Baltimore.