Rep. Gabe Amo, the first Black representative from Rhode Island in Congress, is sworn into office

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

WASHINGTON (AP) — New Democratic Rep. Gabe Amo, the first Black representative from Rhode Island in Congress, was sworn into office Monday.

Amo, a Democrat, won a special election in November to replace Democratic Rep. David Cicilline, who stepped down this summer to lead a nonprofit foundation.

The House chamber burst into applause as Speaker Mike Johnson swore in the new lawmaker.

The son of Ghanaian and Liberian immigrants, Amo worked most recently as a senior adviser to President Joe Biden. He previously worked in state government and in the Obama White House.

AP Politics

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20260112181412