The late Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings is carried through the Rotunda of the Capitol to lie in state at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019. The Maryland congressman and civil rights champion died Thursday, Oct. 17, at age 68 of complications from long-standing health issues. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - The late Rep. Elijah Cummings was hailed as the "North Star" for fellow House Democrats as congressional leaders and colleagues paid tribute to him at a Capitol ceremony Thursday.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., a close personal and political ally, also said that "Elijah was truly a master of the House."
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., recalled Cummings' efforts to calm his native Baltimore amid violent 2015 protests following the death of a black man, Freddie Gray, in police custody. Cummings' involvement, taking to the streets with a bullhorn, helped quiet the disturbances.
By day, Cummings was at the Capitol in the halls of power, McConnell said, but at night he returned Baltimore to encourage unity.
"Let's go home. Let's all go home," McConnell recalled Cummings saying at the time. "Now our distinguished colleague truly has gone home."
The public was to have the chance to pay respects to Cummings later Thursday in Statuary Hall.
Cummings, chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, died Oct. 17 after complications from long-standing health problems. A wake and funeral are planned Friday in Baltimore.
A sharecropper's son, Cummings rose to become a civil rights champion and a leader of an impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump.
As a tribute to Cummings, no votes were scheduled Thursday in the House.
The flag-draped casket of Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., lies in state at the Capitol, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019 in Washington. (Alex Wong/Pool via AP)
The Associated Press
The late Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings is carried through the Rotunda of the Capitol to lie in state at the Capitol in Washington,Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019. Following at far left is his widow, Maya Rockeymoore. The Maryland congressman and civil rights champion died Thursday, Oct. 17, at age 68 of complications from long-standing health issues. (Michael Reynolds/Pool via AP). (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The Associated Press
The casket of Rep. Elijah Cummings is carried by a military carry team up the East Front stairs into the U.S. Capitol Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019, in Washington. The Maryland congressman and civil rights champion died Thursday, Oct. 17, at age 68 of complications from long-standing health issues. (Michael Reynolds/Pool via AP)
The Associated Press
A military carry teams moves the casket of Rep. Elijah Cummings into the U.S. Capitol Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019, in Washington. The Maryland congressman and civil rights champion died Thursday, Oct. 17, at age 68 of complications from long-standing health issues. (Michael Reynolds/Pool via AP)
The Associated Press
The flag-draped casket of Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., is carried through the Capitol, where he will lie in state, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019 in Washington. (Alex Wong/Pool via AP)
The Associated Press