David Cicilline currently holds a seat in the United States House of Representatives as a member of the Democratic Party. Cicilline was elected to the House from the 1st District of Rhode Island.
Since his initial election, Cicilline has gone on to become a member of his party's Congressional leadership. He was nearly its fourth-highest-ranking member in the House, but would withdraw his name from consideration. Now, it seems that Cicilline is ready to pursue other endeavors.
Says he is stepping down from Congress
David Cicilline is resigning from the U.S.
House of Representatives, report CNN and ABC. Cicilline will reportedly be finishing up his time in the House at the end of May. He's set to take over as the CEO and president of the Rhode Island Foundation, the largest nonprofit organization in the state.
Among those paying tribute to Cicilline include United States Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse. As well as his fellow U.S. Representative Seth Magaziner. A special election would be held to fill the vacant U.S. House seat. The exact date has yet to be determined.
Several high-profile names are considered to be potential candidates in the race, particularly on the Democratic side. Rhode Island Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos has indicated she's interested.
State Attorney General Peter Neronha, General Treasurer James Diossa and Secretary of State Gregg Amore are also possibilities. As is Rhode Island House of Representatives Majority Leader Christopher Blazejewski. On the Republican side, Rhode Island Senate Minority Leader Jessica de la Cruz is among the prospective candidates.
Cicilline was first elected to the House in 2010. He has been re-elected six times since then. Currently, he serves on the House Committees on Foreign Affairs and the Judiciary. For the latter, he previously chaired its Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law. In 2021, he was an impeachment manager during the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump.
Cicilline first ran for a political office in 1992. That year, he was a candidate for the Rhode Island Senate. He would lose to incumbent Rhoda Perry in the Democratic primary.
Two years later, Cicilline won a seat in the Rhode Island House of Representatives. It would be the first of four terms he would be elected to in the state legislature. In 2002, Cicilline won the Democratic nomination for mayor of Providence, Rhode Island. He prevailed in the primary over a field that included former Mayor Joseph R. Paolino Jr. Cicilline won the general election in a landslide. He was re-elected in 2006 in similarly dominant fashion.
Is an attorney by trade
David Cicilline was born in Providence. He would later graduate from high school in Narragansett in southeastern Rhode Island.
His father, Jack Cicilline, was a staffer for Providence Mayor Joseph A. Dooley Jr.
The younger Cicilline received a political science degree from Brown University. He followed that up with a degree from the Georgetown University Law Center. Eventually, he practiced law with the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia.
