Elijah Cummings becomes first black lawmaker to have US Capitol room named after him

The House Committee on Oversight and Reform’s hearing room has been named in honor of the late House Rep. Elijah E. Cummings.

In commemoration of his death, the first room in the Capitol complex was named after the African American lawmaker – the first time that a room anywhere in the U.S. Capitol has been named after an African-American lawmaker.

Cummings, before his death, served his 12th term in the House as a Maryland Democrat of the 7th congressional district. According to reports, the chamber that was named in his honor was the same room he once supervised.

At the unveiling of the gold-lettered nameplate that hang above both entrances of Room 2154 in the Rayburn House Office Building, Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney told the crowd that Cummings was a gem, seemingly having his own inner light and brilliance.

“He brought us together in this room, and he is doing it again, even now,” the New York Democrat said. “This room and the work we do here will remind future generations of Elijah’s unwavering commitment to justice, as well as his dedication to stability and decorum,” Roll Call quoted Maloney.

Congress leaders, Cummings’ family, staffers and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle were all at the event.

An influential member of the House, Cummings, as chairman of the Oversight and Reform Committee instigated several investigations into the Trump administration, including probes in 2019 relating to Trump’s family members serving while in the White House. However, due to his illness he was out of the office for several weeks. 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi described him as her “Baltimore bro”, noting that he loved the city and recalled that he was a fan of the Orioles and Ravens. 

Cummings died on Thursday, October 17, 2019 due to “complications concerning longstanding health challenges”.

The funeral was attended by former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama; Hillary Clinton; former vice-president Joe Biden as well as Pelosi, reports USAToday.com

Cummings was the son of a sharecropper.