Ocasio-Cortez mourns Cummings: ‘A devastating loss for our country’

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Thursday issued a statement on Twitter mourning the death of longtime Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), calling his passing a “devastating loss for our country.”

{mosads}“Chairman Cummings was a giant: a universally respected leader who brought profound insight, commitment, and moral fortitude to Congress,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted on early Thursday.

“His guidance and vision was an enormous gift. I will forever cherish his example. May he rest in power.” 

A devastating loss for our country.

Chairman Cummings was a giant: a universally respected leader who brought profound insight, commitment, and moral fortitude to Congress.

His guidance and vision was an enormous gift. I will forever cherish his example. May he rest in power. https://t.co/D0RsKsM5fh

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 17, 2019

Ocasio-Cortez serves as a member of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, of which Cummings was appointed chairman earlier this year. Prior to his appointment, Cummings had served as the ranking member on the committee since 2011.

Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), two other freshman members of the House and part of a group with Ocasio-Cortez known as “the squad”, also serve on the committee and took to Twitter after Cummings’s death to share their condolences.

“Our Chairman leaves behind a beautiful and powerful legacy. I am already feeling the impact of a little less grace in the world,” Pressley wrote. “Deep gratitude to have spent these early months in Congress guided by his wisdom. Rest in power @RepCummings.”

Our Chairman leaves behind a beautiful and powerful legacy. I am already feeling the impact of a little less grace in the world. Deep gratitude to have spent these early months in Congress guided by his wisdom. Rest in power @RepCummings pic.twitter.com/n4ekGvhAVx

— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) October 17, 2019

“I already miss him. He believed in the possibility of better from this institution. He understood that our squad was big & embraced the presence of a new era of social justice. I will always remember him as my Chairman,” Tlaib tweeted. “His presence was iconic & I’m humbled I got to serve w/ him.”

I already miss him. He believed in the possibility of better from this institution. He understood that our squad was big & embraced the presence of a new era of social justice. I will always remember him as my Chairman. His presence was iconic & I’m humbled I got to serve w/ him. https://t.co/Cn3T6B6kAu

— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) October 17, 2019

Cummings had high visibility in the months leading up to his death as his committee investigated President Trump’s businesses and family members.

Trump also tweeted shortly after Cummings’s death to offer his “warmest condolences” to the lawmaker’s friends and family.

“I got to see first hand the strength, passion and wisdom of this highly respected political leader,” Trump tweeted. “His work and voice on so many fronts will be very hard, if not impossible, to replace!”

Cummings’s office said the lawmaker died at 2:30 a.m. at Gilchrist Hospice Care from “complications concerning longstanding health challenges.”

Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, the widow of the late congressman, issued a statement saying that he “worked until his last breath.”