WASHINGTON — The late Representative Elijah E. Cummings, the powerful Democrat whose booming baritone and impassioned cries for decency reverberated through the halls of Congress for more than two decades, made history one final time on Thursday, as the first African-American elected official to lie in state in the United States Capitol.
A son of sharecroppers who rose to the chairmanship of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, which gave him a towering perch from which to investigate President Trump, Mr. Cummings, 68, who died last week after a series of health challenges, was memorialized by congressional leaders in both parties as a man of faith and dignity, and a dedicated public servant, but also as a friend.
“Perhaps this place and this country would be better served with a few more unexpected friendships,” said a teary-eyed Representative Mark Meadows, the conservative North Carolina Republican whose close friendship with Mr. Cummings, despite their strong political differences, was well known in the Capitol. “I know I’ve been blessed by one.”
Political luminaries and lawmakers — including Mr. Cummings’ fellow members of the Congressional Black Caucus, many wearing African kente cloth scarves — poured into the Capitol to witness his coffin draped with an American flag ascend its marble steps, carried by a military honor guard. The Rev. Al Sharpton came. So did the former House speaker, Paul D. Ryan.
One luminary not in attendance was President Trump, whose fractious relationship with Mr. Cummings hit a low point over the summer, when the president attacked Mr. Cummings as a “racist” and described the congressman’s home city of Baltimore as a “disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess.” Mr. Cummings responded by urging the president to visit.
Vice President Mike Pence, however, was expected to come to to the Capitol early Thursday afternoon, when the coffin was moved to a spot in front of the House chamber so the public could come to pay respects.
Mr. Cummings’ loss was a profound one inside the Capitol, especially among freshmen, whom Mr. Cummings took care to mentor. Speaker Nancy Pelosi called him a “master of the House” and a “mentor of the House,” and described how Mr. Cummings asked to have as many freshmen as possible on his committee because he saw in them so much energy and potential.
Two Democratic freshmen — Representatives Ayanna S. Pressley of Massachusetts and Lauren Underwood of Illinois, both black women whose own elections made history last year — walked out of Thursday’s ceremony with tears streaming down their cheeks.
“Elijah would continually remind us when we came short of our goals and ideals: We are better than this,” said Representative Steny H. Hoyer, the Democratic leader and Mr. Cummings’ fellow Marylander. “That was his answer when confronted with the differences between America’s promise and its reality.”
The service, featuring remarks by leaders of both parties, took place in National Statuary Hall, which served as the House chamber before 1850. Mr. Cummings’ coffin lay just feet from the statue of civil rights leader Rosa Parks, who in 2005 became the first African-American to lie in honor (the title reserved for private citizens) in the Capitol.
Mr. Cummings’ ascent in American politics was, in his own view, something of a miracle. A lawyer and former state legislator, he was the first African-American in Maryland history to be named speaker pro tem. He once spoke of his bringing his father to his first swearing-in after he was elected to Congress.
“He said, ‘Isn’t this the place where they used to call us slaves?’” Mr. Cummings said, recounting their conversation. “I said, ‘Yes sir.’ He said, ‘Isn’t this the place where they used to call us three-fifths a man?’ I said, ‘Yes sir.’ ‘And isn’t this the place they used to call us chattel?’ I said, ‘Yes, yes sir.’”
The congressman said he would never forget his father’s next sentence: “When I think about you being sworn in today, now I see what I could have been if I’d had the opportunity.”
Lola Fadulu contributed reporting.