Democratic U.S. Rep. David Cicilline of Rhode Island announced he will leave Congress in June.
The out Congressman has served since 2011. He will leave Capitol Hill to head the Rhode Island Foundation as president and CEO.
“For more than a decade, the people of Rhode Island entrusted me with a sacred duty to represent them in Congress, and it is a responsibility I put my heart and soul into every day,” Cicilline said in a prepared statement. “The chance to lead the Rhode Island Foundation was unexpected, but it is an extraordinary opportunity to have an even more direct and meaningful impact on the lives of residents of our state.”
Ciclline was the fourth openly gay person ever elected to Congress, and before that was the first gay man elected as mayor of a state capitol, leading Providence, R.I., from 2003 to 2011.
Over more than a decade in the U.S. House, Cicilline saw a dramatic expansion in LGBTQ+ rights that included a Supreme Court ruling making marriage equality the law of the land and later codified by Congress. But he also leaves amid a new assault from the far-right on LGBTQ+ Americans in the name of parents’ rights despite sometimes targeting even the parents of queer Americans.
Cicilline last fall led a charge in the House urging President Joe Biden to request sufficient funding in the next fiscal year’s budget to promote LGBTQ+ rights globally. He also pushed in the last Congress for a transgender bill of rights. Cicilline introduced the Equality Act, legislation with the potential to add LGBTQ protections to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
“As one of the longest-serving openly LGBTQ+ members of Congress, David Cicilline has used elected office to advance equality and ensure our community has a seat at the table,” read a tweet from the Human Rights Campaign. “Thank you for everything you have done, Rep. Cicilline.”
The Congressman’s work has not been limited to the fight for equality, and he served as an impeachment manager during the second impeachment of former President Donald Trump after the presidential loser incited a riot to delay certification of Joe Biden’s victory.
The Advocate has reached out to Cicilline’s office for comment.
