After losing reelection to Congress, Rose briefly considered running for Mayor of New York City in the 2021 election, but ultimately did not enter the race. On January 20, 2021, he was sworn in as special assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Defense for COVID-19, serving in the role for six months.[10] In December 2021, Rose announced his candidacy in the 2022 U.S. House of Representatives elections to regain his former seat;[1] in a rematch of the 2020 race, he was defeated by Malliotakis, earning 37.5% of the vote.
Early life and education
Rose was born in Brooklyn, New York. He is Jewish.[11] His mother is a public school teacher and professor of social work and his father is a medical laboratory executive.[12][13][14]
He subsequently received a bachelor's degree in history from Wesleyan University, graduating in 2008.[18] Rose became involved in politics while a student at Wesleyan University; he worked as an intern for U.S. Senator Cory Booker while Booker was mayor of Newark, New Jersey.[citation needed]
After leaving full-time military service, Rose served as director of public engagement for Brooklyn District AttorneyKenneth P. Thompson.[27] Thompson was Brooklyn's first Black district attorney.[20] Rose worked on an initiative known as "Begin Again," helping people with outstanding warrants for minor offenses address them and clean their records.[28]
Later, he served as chief of staff at Brightpoint Health, a nonprofit operator of medical outpatient clinics in Staten Island and elsewhere in New York City with 800 employees.[12][29][21]
Rose ran in the 2018 Democratic Party primary for New York's 11th congressional district against five other candidates, winning with 65% of the vote. In the general election, he faced Republican incumbent Dan Donovan and received endorsements from former president Barack Obama and former vice president Joe Biden.[citation needed] Rose defeated Donovan, 53% to 47%, a win widely seen as an upset as most ratings of the race considered Donovan, who had won the 2016 election by 25 points, a slight favorite.[30][failed verification] He became the youngest male member of the House of Representatives.[31]
The 11th has historically been the most conservative district in New York City, as Staten Island is the city's most conservative borough.[6] For most of the time since the 1990s, it has been the only Republican-held district in the city, and for much of that time it has been the only area in the city in which Republicans usually do well. It has a Cook Partisan Voting Index of R+3; the other 11 districts in the city have PVIs of at least D+20. Rose was only the second Democrat to hold the seat since 1981, as well as the first since then to unseat an incumbent Republican. His victory made New York City's House delegation entirely Democratic for the second time since 1933.
In 2020, Rose was defeated in his reelection bid by State Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis, who represented much of the district's eastern portion. He conceded on November 11.[32] Ultimately, Malliotakis took 53% of the vote to Rose's 47%.[33]
Rose was hampered by Donald Trump carrying Staten Island with 57% of the vote, the most of any borough and ahead of Queens. Rose's participation in a George Floyd protest was also blamed for hurting his reelection chances as the 11th district has historically been home to large numbers of New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers and their families.[34]
In December 2021, Rose announced he was running for Congress to reclaim his former seat in 2022.[35] He won the Democratic primary on August 23, 2022, receiving 75% of the vote.[36] He was defeated in a landslide in the November 8, 2022 general election by Malliotakis, 62% to 38%.
He supports criminal background checks for gun purchases, and an assault rifle ban. In 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives passed its first piece of gun-safety legislation since 1994, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, co-sponsored by Rose, mandating federal criminal background checks for all gun transfers, including private transactions.[43]
War in Afghanistan
In March 2019, in response to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's view that Congress "could have leaned more on the larger role of other agencies before Congress decided to invade a nation without a concrete end plan," Rose wrote to the New York Daily News:
"I believe it's long past time we end the war in Afghanistan, but I strongly disagree with the idea that the invasion was wrong on moral or national security grounds ... After our city and country were attacked we were very clear with the Taliban—either they give up Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda, or we would come and get them ourselves ... They chose to protect Osama bin Laden, and they rightfully paid the price."[44]
Impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump
On October 2, 2019, Rose announced his support for an impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump for his attempt to pressure Ukraine into interfering in the 2020 presidential election.[45]
Later career
Rose attends a COVID-19 meeting with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley at the Pentagon, January 2021
On December 10, 2020, Rose opened a campaign account with the campaign finance board to raise money for the 2021 New York City mayoral election, but announced on January 3, 2021, that he would not run.[46][47][48]
On January 20, 2021, Rose was sworn in as Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense (Senior Advisor, COVID-19) to serve under Lloyd Austin, a position Rose held until July 21, 2021[4][49][50]
Electoral history
New York's 11th congressional district Democratic primary results, 2018