David Nicola Cicilline (/sɪsɪˈliːni/ sih-sih-LEE-nee; born July 15, 1961) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Rhode Island's 1st congressional district from 2011 to 2023.

[8] In February 2023, Cicilline announced his resignation from Congress, effective June 1, 2023, to become president and chief executive officer of the Rhode Island Foundation.

In high school, he served as president of his graduating class, and participated in the Close Up Washington civic education program before attending Brown University, where he established a branch of the College Democrats with his classmate John F. Kennedy Jr.

[24] In November 2002, Cicilline was elected in a landslide with 84% of the vote, following the downfall of controversial mayor Buddy Cianci and the aftermath of Operation Plunder Dome.

[30] Cicilline's administration focused on the residential neighborhoods of Providence, as well as the "Renaissance" areas of downtown and Federal Hill that thrived under Cianci, and continued the promotion of the city via the tax breaks given to artists and movie productions.

The Associated Press reported that if enacted, it would become the first-in-the-nation tax on students simply for being enrolled and attending college within the city limits.

[32] Cicilline also serves on the board of the national nonprofit Afterschool Alliance, an organization that works to promote and to support after-school activities for all children.

[36] Cicilline personally testified in Superior Court to stop the opening of "spas" in Providence, and discussed his position in the 2009 documentary Happy Endings?.

[40] On November 3, 2009, Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri signed into law a bill making the buying and selling of sexual services a crime.

[42] On June 8, 2008, Marco Riz, an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala who had been arrested twice the previous year while under a deportation order, was charged with the robbery and rape of a 30-year-old woman.

Previously, Carcieri had signed an executive order requiring all state officials to work with ICE on arrests or hirings of undocumented immigrants.

[44] On July 8, 2008, Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri claimed that Cicilline was not upholding his oath of office by failing to report undocumented immigrants, and suggested that the U.S. Attorney investigate the mayor.

Eight days later, Cicilline wrote an op-ed in The Providence Journal, stating that the city always has and will continue to report all arrests to immigration authorities, and that the focus is therefore inappropriate.

In a July 2002 email Cicilline sent to the members of Local 799, he indicated that he hoped to resolve their pending contract dispute with the city within 30 days of taking office.

[52][53] In 2009, due to the union picketline, the Obama administration canceled Joe Biden's appearance at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Providence, in the interests of remaining neutral in the conflict.

The suit accused John M. Cicilline, the mayor's imprisoned brother, of attempting to defraud the City of Providence by writing a bad check for $75,000 on behalf of a delinquent taxpayer.

[87] In October 2021, Portuguese Ambassador to the United States Domingos Teixeira de Abreu Fezas Vital made Cicilline a Grand Officer of the Order of Prince Henry.

Cicilline has come out publicly in favor of net neutrality, saying that "he will do whatever it takes" to stop the Federal Communications Commission's proposed plans to end regulation of internet service providers under Title II.

Cicilline said in a statement: “This incident is only Facebook’s latest abuse of public trust and attempt to obscure its role in the rise of information warfare and propaganda online.”[94][95] Cicilline and Representative Jeff Fortenberry sent Alphabet Inc. CEO Sundar Pichai a letter following up on a complaint from 20 advocacy groups regarding Google's compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.

The committee was made up of parliamentarians from 10 countries, and sought to enhance global collaboration on the regulation of harmful content, hate speech, and electoral interference.

[99][100][101] When questioning Pichai, Cicilline claimed that Google's business model was a problem, and displayed emails from over a decade ago that showed the company had engaged in "a pattern of anti-competitive behavior.

"[102] He also argued that the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the urgent need for regulation of these companies, and compared them to past monopolies, such as the railroads and oil tycoons, AT&T, and Microsoft.

According to Public Radio of Armenia, "The Medal of Gratitude is awarded to individuals, organizations, and collectives for significant contributions in restoring and developing the economy, science, culture, and social spheres of the NKR, as well as for defending and promoting international recognition of the Republic.

Cicilline cited Bolton's advocacy for preemptive attacks on Iran and North Korea, as well as his support for the Iraq War, when he worked as Ambassador to the United Nations during President George W. Bush’s administration.

[113] On October 1, 2020, he co-signed a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that condemned Azerbaijan’s offensive operations against Nagorno-Karabakh, denounced Turkey’s role in the conflict, and called for an immediate ceasefire.

[115] In 2010, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence endorsed Cicilline; in 2000, the National Rifle Association of America awarded him an F− lifetime score.

[123][124] In May 2017, he opposed the Davis-Oliver Act, introduced by Representative Raúl Labrador, which would have added 12,500 armed federal immigration officers, penalized sanctuary cities, and stepped up detentions and deportation activities.

[131] In September 2016, Cicilline asked Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Sarah Saldana what her agency was doing to "enhance" guidelines for LGBT individuals in ICE custody.

Saldana answered that ICE officers spoke with LGBT+ undocumented immigrants in order to properly accommodate them while they were in American detention facilities.

This act would prohibit defense lawyers from using a victim’s LGBTQ identity as justification for a crime, or to argue for lesser sentences on the premise that there were extenuating circumstances that motivated their clients to lash out violently.