Max Rose to join Biden administration as Pentagon COVID adviser
Max Rose is back in business.
The former New York congressman, who lost his bid for reelection last year and then mounted a short-lived campaign for mayor, is set to join the Biden administration as a senior Pentagon adviser on coronavirus-related issues, two sources familiar with the matter told the Daily News on Tuesday.
One of the sources said Rose approached President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team about a role in his incoming administration shortly after Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) beat him in the Nov. 3 race to represent New York’s 11th congressional district, which covers all of Staten Island and parts of southern Brooklyn.
Keeping his options open, Rose last month also announced a Democratic campaign to replace Mayor de Blasio.
However, he pulled the plug on his mayoral campaign just a few weeks later on Jan. 3, potentially in preparation for his new Pentagon post.
A spokesman for Rose declined to comment, as did Biden’s transition team. Rose’s new job was first reported by Defense One.
Rose, a combat veteran of the war in Afghanistan, will officially serve as special assistant to the secretary of defense, with a focus on pandemic response, according to the sources.
The timing of a formal announcement for Rose’s new job was not immediately known.
Lloyd Austin, Biden’s pick for defense secretary, began his confirmation process on Tuesday with a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Austin, who would become the first Black defense secretary in U.S. history, needs a congressional waiver from both chambers of Congress to serve since it has been less than seven years since he last served in a uniform.
