Democrat Rep. David Cicilline to Leave Congress in June

Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) plans to resign from Congress in June to become the president and CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation. His plans will inevitably set up an off-year special election to fill the seat.

“Serving the people of Rhode Island’s First Congressional District has been the honor of my lifetime,” the 61-year-old, seven-term Democrat said as part of a lengthy statement. “As President and CEO of one of the largest and oldest community foundations in the nation, I look forward to expanding on the work I have led for nearly thirty years in helping to improve the lives of all Rhode Islanders.”

Cicilline will not only kick off a special election to fill his seat but also leave a seat open on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Judiciary Committee, where he currently serves. He is also a part of the Democrat leadership.

According to his press release, the longtime congressman will resign from office effective June 1.

He noted that 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.”

Even though his new job will not be as high profile as being a member of Congress, where he earns $174,000 a year, being president and CEO of the foundation will make him $650,000 a year, according to the Boston Globe.

During the congressman’s last few years in Congress, he was one of the key Democrats trying to push the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) through Congress. The bill — nicknamed the “Media Cartel Bill” — was championed by Democrats and liberal media outlets to promote censorship of conservative viewpoints under the guise of protecting local journalism.

During a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the measure last year, Cicilline stated the “crisis in American journalism has become a real crisis in our democracy and civic life.” And speaking of the Big Tech platforms, he alluded to his deep desire to promote what he deems “trustworthy” sources.

“This gatekeeper power gives Facebook and Google the ability to distort the flow of information online,” he added. “This means that Google and Facebook can divert their billions of users away from trustworthy sources of news with a single change to their algorithms or through other subtle but meaningful ways such as manipulating ad auctions.”

He also admitted that Congress must “do something in the short term to save trustworthy journalism.”

Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.