FLINT, MI -- U.S. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings’ work to root out the reasons for the Flint water crisis has earned the late congressman praise from all corners of the city following his death Thursday, Oct. 17.
As the ranking member of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, Cummings helped to lead the federal investigation into how Flint’s water was contaminated while the city was being run by state-appointed emergency managers in 2014-15, telling former Gov. Rick Snyder during his congressional testimony, “You cannot be trusted ... You need to resign.”
“For the people of my hometown of Flint, Elijah always stood tall," U.S. Rep. Dan KIldee, D-Flint, said in a statement issued by his office. “Elijah was one of the first members of Congress to visit Flint, afterward opening an investigation into the water crisis. I will always remember working side-by-side with Elijah to bring much-needed resources and justice to the people of Flint.”
The Associated Press reported that Cummings died of complications from longstanding health problems. He was 68.
President Donald Trump ordered Thursday that flags be flown at half-staff at the White House “as a mark of respect for the memory and longstanding public service” of Cummings.
Flint Mayor Karen Weaver said in a statement issued by her office that Cummings’ life was “a banner for all who wish to answer the call to public service.”
“The world has suffered a great loss, this country is in deep mourning, and our government has lost a true patriot and a drum major for justice.,” Weaver said. “When our city needed a champion, he fought to get answers and justice for us. As a public servant, he led a life that we would hope those that we elect would lead, one with honor for this country and integrity for its people.”
Elsewhere in Michigan, U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow said in a Twitter message that Cummings spent his career fighting for American families and a stronger democracy.
“I’ll always be grateful for the work he did advocating for the families of Flint,” Stabenow’s message says.
Also in a Twitter message, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called Cummings “the definition of a true public servant.”
“He dedicated his life to fighting for what is right, and we are all better for it,” Whitmer said. “My heart is with his family and all who loved him. He will be dearly missed.”
Cummings sought Whitmer’s help in rooting out state documents related to Flint water after her election last year, contending Snyder had not complied by requests for certain records.
Whitmer pledged her assistance in January, and by March, a spokesman for Attorney General Dana Nessel told MLive-The Flint Journal that records were being turned over to Cummings’ committee.
The congressman became the chairman of the Oversight Committee in January by virtue of Democrats becoming the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2019 election, and Cummings told Snyder in a letter before he left office that he intended to continue the federal investigation into the water crisis despite Republicans having closed a year-long investigation into Flint water in December 2016.
Cummings called the federal government Flint’s last line of defense in determining how children were “poisoned with lead and not by accident but by the actions of their own government.”
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