Blake Anthony Filippi (born September 10, 1980) is an American politician serving as a member of the

Rhode Island House of Representatives The Rhode Island House of Representatives is the lower house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the upper house being the Rhode Island Senate. It is composed of 75 members, elected t ...

and the House Minority Leader. Filippi is from the 36th district, which includes all of

Block Island Block Island is an island in the U.S. state of Rhode Island located in Block Island Sound approximately south of the mainland and east of Montauk Point, Long Island, New York, named after Dutch explorer Adriaen Block. It is part of Washingt ...

and Charlestown and portions of Westerly and

South Kingstown South Kingstown is a town in, and the county seat of, Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 31,931 at the 2020 census. South Kingstown is the second largest town in Rhode Island by total geographic area, behind New ...

. Blake Filippi received his J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law, and is currently a member of the Republican Party. He has served since he was first elected in 2014, defeating incumbent Democratic Representative Donna M. Walsh. He was unanimously elected as Minority Leader of Rhode Island House of Representatives by the Republican Caucus in 2018, and previously, as Whip in 2016. In February 2020, he spoke in favor of the

presidential campaign President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Tulsi Gabbard Tulsi Gabbard (; born April 12, 1981) is an American politician, United States Army Reserve officer and political commentator who served as the U.S. representative for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district from 2013 to 2021. Gabbard was the firs ...

. In January of 2021, when questioned about fellow Rhode Island Representative Justin Price attending the pro-Trump Capital Riots in Washington DC, Filippi was quoted as saying “House members are expelled for bad acts, not bad thoughts. There are no allegations that Rep. Price did anything other than attend what he believed to be a lawful protest, and to express his opinion about what happened that sad day — and this is where a House inquiry ends." On June 23, 2022, Filippi announced he would not seek reelection for House Minority Leader in 2023 and stepped down, being replaced with

Minority Whip The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and members of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as the chief spokespersons for their respective political parties holding t ...

Michael Chippendale Michael W. Chippendale (born April 25, 1969 in Providence, Rhode Island) is an American politician and a Republican Party (United States), Republican member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives representing District 40 since being elected ...

. Filippi stated that he would not seek reelection due to wanting to focus on an ongoing lawsuit against member of the state's

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

leadership.

References

External links

*
RI House of Representatives Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Filippi, Blake 1980 births 21st-century American politicians Living people Members of the Rhode Island House of Representatives People from Providence County, Rhode Island Rhode Island Independents Rhode Island Republicans Rutgers School of Law–Camden alumni University of Arizona alumni