After State House Raid, Mattiello Calls Friday Caucus, Could Become Speaker of the House

In the wake of a multi-agency raid at the State House Friday morning, House Majority Leader and Cranston Rep. Nicholas Mattiello could be in the running to be the new Speaker of the House by next week.

"If there is a need, I'm ready to step in," Mattiello said to reporters on Friday at the same time State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation descended upon Gordon Fox's house in the East Side of Providence and his office in the State House.

Two sealed search warrants were executed and no details have been released about the nature of the raids, though it appears that Fox's days as speaker could be numbered.

Mattiello said he's the next in line in the power hierarchy in the House and said he believes "he will have the support of the room" if it came down to a vote to decide if he'll be the next speaker.

In comments that aired on WPRO, "It's a difficult day for the state of Rhode Island," Mattiello said. "It's not a day the citizenry needs."

Mattiello said he's called for a caucus with Democratic leaders tonight at 5:30 p.m. in an undisclosed location leading up to a special session on Tuesday where the house might vote for a new speaker, assuming Fox does in fact resign.

Mattiello, an 8-year member of the House, said he spoke to Fox last night and there was no indication that anything was wrong. 

To become speaker, Mattiello would need to get 38 votes from the full house after getting the nod in caucus. 

As far as details about the raid and investigation, Mattiello told reporters that they knew more than he did and right now, "I'm concentrating on the most important thing to me and that is the state of Rhode Island."

"I'm concerned with the operation of the House of Representatives, all the members of the house," he said. "I'm talking to my members, who are concerned with today's events, and trying to provide them with as much information as I have, which is very limited. We're all focusing on moving forward and having a productive session on Tuesday and working for the rest of the session on moving the state in the right direction."