Cummings pallbearer explains his viral snub of McConnell
Allyson Chiu, The Washington Post Published 8:08 am PDT, Monday, October 28, 2019
While many assumed that Rankin had acted out of loyalty to Cummings, the longtime legislator from Maryland who had clashed repeatedly with President Donald Trump before his death on Oct. 17, he told The Washington Post his reasons were much more personal.
"When I saw Mitch McConnell, all I saw was my brother's face," said Rankin, 64, of Charlotte, N.C., one of Cummings' pallbearers.
Rankin's brother, Jerry, died last October from cancer after being exposed to contaminated water while serving in the Marines at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. Jerry did not receive the veterans' benefits he was owed before he died, Rankin said - and he blamed McConnell in part for that family tragedy.
"Elijah Cummings reached across party lines trying to help my brother get his military benefits, and Mitch McConnell was one of the persons he reached out to," Rankin said.
McConnell did not respond to multiple requests for comment on Rankin's claims.
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