President Donald Trump: Elijah Cummings' Work and Voice Will Be Very Hard, If Not Impossible, to Replace

Veteran lawmaker, Representative Elijah Cummings, 68, died shortly before 3 a.m. Thursday at Gilchrist Hospice Care, a provider-partner of Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Formerly a Maryland state delegate, Cummings had been a member of Congress since 1996.

Representative Cummings attended high school at Baltimore City College. He later earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Howard University, and graduated from the University of Maryland School of Law. Cummings began practicing law in 1976, and entered the General Assembly as a State Delegate in 1982.

President Donald J. Trump was among the thousands of politicians, dignataries and constituents that took to social media to express their condolences and other heart felt messages after the news broke regarding Cummings' unfortunate passing.  "I got to see first hand the strength, passion and wisdom of this highly respected political leader," President Trump said. "His work and voice on so many fronts will be very hard, if not impossible, to replace. "

Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, Congressman Cummings' widow said in a statement that “he worked until his last breath.” According to state law, Republican Gov. Larry Hogan will need to announce plans by Oct. 28 for a primary and a general election to fill the vacancy.

New Psalmist Baptist Church, where Cummings worshiped for more than a three decades, will likely be the chosen location for his funeral, although no arrangements have been released as of yet.