WHEREAS, United States Representative Elijah Eugene Cummings was born a son of sharecroppers on January 18, 1951, in Baltimore, Maryland, and received his high school diploma from Baltimore City College in 1969; and

WHEREAS, Representative Cummings graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Howard University, where he was student government president, with a degree in political science; and

WHEREAS, Representative Cummings graduated from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1976 and practiced law for nearly 20 years; and

WHEREAS, Representative Cummings was elected to the House of Delegates in the Maryland General Assembly in 1982 and served for 13 years, during which time he became the youngest chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland and the first African-American in Maryland history to be named speaker pro tempore; and

WHEREAS, Representative Cummings was elected to the United States House of Representatives in a special election in 1996 to represent Maryland’s 7th Congressional District and was re-elected 11 times, serving for over 23 years; and

WHEREAS, Representative Cummings served as chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus from 2003 to 2005; and

WHEREAS, Representative Cummings served as the ranking member of the powerful House Oversight and Reform Committee from 2011 to 2019; and

WHEREAS, Representative Cummings served as Chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee from January 2019 until his passing and, in that capacity, worked fairly and effectively to hold the executive branch accountable for its policies and practices; and

WHEREAS, Representative Cummings advanced many important causes during his tenure in Congress, including civil rights, stricter gun safety laws, help for those suffering from drug addiction, and increased funding for public education and Head Start programming; and

WHEREAS, Representative Cummings was a strong advocate for Baltimore and worked to heal the city after the uprisings following the death of Freddie Gray, a young Black man who died in police custody; and

WHEREAS, Representative Cummings was a beloved husband, father, and brother, whose presence will be missed by his family, his friends, his colleagues, the people of Maryland, and the nation whom he served so well; and

WHEREAS, it is with immense sadness that we mourn Representative Cummings’s passing, and extend our deepest sympathy to his family, friends, and colleagues; and

WHEREAS, it is appropriate to honor the exemplary character, outstanding achievements, and cherished memory of Representative Cummings, and to mark his passing;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, PHILIP D. MURPHY, Governor of the State of New Jersey, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and by the Statutes of this State, do hereby ORDER and DIRECT:

1. The flag of the United States of America and the flag of New Jersey shall be flown at half-staff at all State departments, offices, agencies, and instrumentalities during appropriate hours from Tuesday, October 22, 2019, to Friday, October 25, 2019, in recognition and mourning of a tireless public servant, United States Representative Elijah E. Cummings.

2. This Order shall take effect immediately.