PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) -- Stefan Pryor is back.

Gov. Dan McKee announced Thursday he is nominating the former longtime state official for a second tour of duty as commerce secretary, a position he held first under then-Gov. Gina Raimondo and retained when McKee succeeded her in 2021. The likely appointment had been increasingly expected among State House insiders over recent weeks.

Pryor, 53, stepped down as commerce secretary in 2022 to make an unsuccessful bid for general treasurer, losing the Democratic primary to James Diossa. McKee brought him back into state government the following year as housing secretary, a position he held for a bit more than a year before resigning to join the private sector.

"Stefan Pryor has the experience and the right skill set to steer Rhode Island’s e

See Full Page