Pelosi says she was "devastated by the loss" of Elijah Cummings

Pelosi on Cummings: "He lived the American dream, and he wanted it for everyone else"

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi held her weekly news conference on Capitol Hill on Thursday morning, hours after the death of Elijah Cummings, the Maryland Democratic chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

In her press conference, Pelosi said that House was considering renaming H.R. 3 — a bill on lowering prescription drug costs — in Cummings' name.

"I'm devastated by the loss," Pelosi said. She referred to Cummings as her "brother in Baltimore," adding that "he lived the American dream and wanted it for everyone else."

"In the House, Elijah was our North Star," Pelosi said in an earlier statement. "He was a leader of towering character and integrity, whose stirring voice and steadfast values pushed the Congress and country to rise always to a higher purpose."

She spoke a day after making headlines for saying President Trump had a "serious meltdown" in a White House meeting on Turkey. Pelosi said she believes "we have to pray for his health."

The White House meeting came shortly after the House voted 354 to 60 to condemn Mr. Trump's decision to pull troops from northern Syria.

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