Cummings: Trump Offered Support For Family Of Aide Hurt In House Fire

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Rep. Elijah Cummings says that during a call from President Donald Trump, Trump asked about the congressman's special assistant, Katie Malone, who was injured in a fire at her home this month that killed six of her nine children.

"The president, one of the things he said when he first called was 'How's Katie?'" Cummings said.

Cummings said he expressed that one of Malone's chief concerns was making funeral arrangements.

"He said that he really wanted to make some type of contribution to help her out and her family and he expressed his sincere sympathy," Cummings said.

Vice President Mike Pence has also called, Cummings said. He also thanked congressional colleagues for their continued support.

Trump also wants to meet with him to discuss the price of prescription drugs, Cummings said Thursday at his Baltimore office.

Cummings says Trump told him they would not agree on everything, but they could find some common ground on trying to address the rising costs of prescription drugs.

Cummings says he's looking forward to the meeting, which hasn't been scheduled yet. He also raised some criticisms of Trump's early actions, including a reported gag order on federal agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and a probe into voter fraud allegations that remain unsubstantiated.

"Everybody in the world knows there's hardly any voter fraud, but at the same time...in 2014, 600,000 citizens in Texas who wanted to vote weren't able to vote," Cummings said. "This is not about the next election. This is about generations left unborn."

He said he'll bring that up when he does get an audience with Trump.

"I think it is important that we pass on a democracy that is sound, a democracy that upholds freedom of the press, a democracy that does not lead us into a question of the legitimacy of our institutions, a democracy that does not take away people's right to vote but expands their right to vote, so people have to fight back," Cummings said.

The Associated Press and Phil Yacuboski contributed to this report.