Democratic U.S. Rep. Cicilline to resign, head Rhode Island foundation

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Democratic U.S. Representative David Cicilline, a leading voice for gay rights who has represented Rhode Island in Congress for over a decade, said on Tuesday that he will resign from office effective June 1.

In a surprise announcement, Cicilline, a former Providence mayor, said he will become president and CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation, a major funder of nonprofit organizations in the state.

“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,” Cicilline said in a statement.

Cicilline will remain in office until he begins work at the foundation on June 1, his office said.

Republicans have a slim majority in the House, with 222 seats. There are 212 Democrats, including Cicilline, and one vacancy that is expected to add another Democrat following voting in a special election on Tuesday.

A special election to fill Cicilline’s seat will be held sometime following his departure from Congress. Officials in the Rhode Island governor’s office were not immediately available for comment on when that special election might be set.

Rhode Island’s two U.S. Senate seats and two House seats are currently held by Democrats in this “blue” state.

In November, Cicilline briefly ran for the position of assistant House Democratic leader, in a bid to raise the profile of gay issues in Congress.

He dropped out after receiving assurances from party leaders that such issues would be represented, according to a House Democratic aide. He was running against Representative James Clyburn, who has long held top party leadership jobs in the House.

First elected to the House in 2010, Cicilline has established a solidly liberal voting record, defending low-income constituents from budget cuts and accusing Facebook of failing to discourage hate speech and Russian propaganda.

He was re-elected last November with 64% of the vote.

(Reporting by Rami Ayyub and Richard Cowan; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Nick Zieminski)