Mitch McConnell snubbed by Elijah Cummings' pallbearer in handshake line at US Capitol ceremony

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell received a bit of online attention Thursday during a memorial service for Rep. Elijah Cummings when a pallbearer appeared to refuse to shake the Kentucky Republican's hand.

A video posted to Twitter captures the pallbearer walking down a line and shaking the hands of several lawmakers before ignoring an outstretched McConnell's hand.

McConnell appears to look somewhat caught off guard and turns to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer near the end of the 16-second video.

McConnell, Schumer, Rep. Mark Meadows, Rep. Jim Clyburn and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were among several attendees who spoke Thursday as Cummings was lying in state inside the U.S. Capitol's Statuary Hall.

Cummings, a Maryland Democrat who represented parts of Baltimore for 23 years in Congress, died Oct. 17 at the age of 68 due to health complications.

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He was the first black lawmaker to lie in state at the Capitol, according to the Congressional Black Caucus.

A funeral for Cummings will be held Friday morning at the New Psalmist Baptist Church in Baltimore, where he worshiped for nearly 40 years. Former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton are among the dignitaries set to speak during the service. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is also slated to speak.

During his remarks Thursday, McConnell praised Cummings, who chaired the House Oversight and Reform Committee.

"He knew there was only one reason why a son of sharecroppers, a child who had literally had to bear the injuries of bigotry and segregation, could graduate from law school and eventually chair a powerful committee in Congress," McConnell said. "Only one reason, because principled leaders had fought to give kids like him a chance.

"Chairman Cummings made it his life's work to continue that effort. He climbed the ranks here in the Capitol, not because he outgrew his hometown but because he was so committed to it."

Cummings lying in state: Elijah Cummings lies in state at Capitol as Congress bids farewell to a 'master of the House'

McConnell also noted how Cummings tirelessly worked in 2015 to bring people together in his native Baltimore, where protests raged following the death of Freddie Gray, a black man who suffered a fatal spinal injury while in police custody.

"By day, the congressman was here in the Capitol working and leading in these hallways of power," McConnell said. "But every night, he rode the train back home and walked the neighborhoods, bullhorn in hand, encouraging unity and peace."

McConnell said Cummings had a simple message for the angry protesters on Baltimore's streets after Gray's death: "Let's go home. Let's all go home."

"Now, our distinguished colleague truly has gone home," McConnell said. "Home to his father's house."

Reach Billy Kobin at bkobin@courierjournal.com

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Mitch McConnell's handshake snubbed by Elijah Cummings' pallbearer