Rep. David Cicilline, a Rhode Island Democrat, says he will leave Congress early at the end of May to become the new president and CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation, marking a rare resignation early in a session. https://t.co/wEUZe4z0eh

— NBC News (@NBCNews) February 21, 2023

[Cicilline isn’t even two months into this session. He even tried running for a leadership position after the midterm elections, as NBC points out. Why bother running for another term only to dump out at this point? The probable answer: Cicilline came into the House in a GOP majority in 2011 and probably got used to being in the majority after 2018 — and is rediscovering that being in the House minority stinks. It’s a D+12 district, so Democrats shouldn’t have too much trouble keeping the seat, but special elections can sometimes produce surprising results. And this likely signals pessimism among House Democrat ranks about prospects for recapturing the House in 2024. Stay tuned for more retirements. — Ed

Update: An astute reader reminds me to mention that Cicilline was also a Trump impeachment manager. Heh. — Ed]