Max Rose


Max N. Rose is an American veteran and politician serving as the U.S. Representative for New York's 11th congressional district, which includes all of Staten Island and parts of southern Brooklyn. A Democrat, he defeated incumbent Republican Dan Donovan in 2018.
Rose served in the U.S. Army as a platoon leader in the War in Afghanistan, where he was wounded, from 2012 to 2013. For his service, he was awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart.

Early life and education

Rose was born in Brooklyn to a Jewish family. His father is a medical laboratory executive, and his mother is a welfare policy and social work expert and a professor at the Borough of Manhattan Community College of the City University of New York. His paternal great-grandfather, a Russian Jew, left Odessa for the United States when he was 14 years old. His great-grandmother was one of the first female school principals in Brooklyn and his grandmother was a teacher in Harlem.
Rose grew up primarily in Park Slope. He celebrated his bar mitzvah at Union Temple of Brooklyn in Prospect Heights.
Rose attended high school at Poly Prep Country Day School in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, where he captained the wrestling team, and graduated in 2004. He subsequently received a bachelor's degree in history from Wesleyan University, graduating in 2008. 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. He later earned a master's degree in philosophy and public policy from the London School of Economics and attended the University of Oxford.

Military career

Rose enlisted in the United States Army in 2010. He served nearly five years of active duty with the U.S. Army 1st Armored Division. In 2012–13, he was a 26-year-old first lieutenant platoon leader fighting in the War in Afghanistan, when he was wounded after his vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in northern Kandahar Province. After completing Ranger School, he earned the Ranger tab, the Combat Infantryman Badge, a Bronze Star, and a Purple Heart. He serves as a company commander in the New York Army National Guard with the 69th Infantry Battalion, the second-oldest unit in the United States.
In March 2020, while serving as a member of Congress, Rose announced that he would deploy with the National Guard to assist New York City's coronavirus pandemic response effort.

Post-military career

After leaving full-time military service, Rose served as Director of Public Engagement for Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth P. Thompson. Later, he served as Chief of Staff at Brightpoint Health, a nonprofit operator of medical clinics in Staten Island and elsewhere in New York City.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

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. Rose defeated Donovan, 52.8% to 46.8%, a win widely seen as an upset as most ratings of the race considered Donovan a slight favorite.
The 11th has historically been the most conservative district in New York City. 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 where 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 is only the second Democrat to hold the seat since 1981. His victory made New York City's House delegation entirely Democratic for only the second time since 1933.

Committee assignments

Rose supports improving transportation infrastructure in South Brooklyn and Staten Island. He favors lowering the age of Medicare eligibility from 65 to 55, universal health care with a public healthcare option, and expanding access to clinics for treating opioid addiction. He also supports criminal background checks for gun purchases and an assault rifle ban. He believes that the United States should rejoin the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change's Paris Agreement as a way to lower carbon dioxide emissions. Rose urged the State Department to designate Ukraine's Azov Battalion a Foreign Terrorist Organization.

War in Afghanistan

In March 2019, in response to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's view that " 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."

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.

Electoral history

Personal life

Rose and his wife Leigh Byrne, a fashion stylist, were married in March 2018. They reside in St. George, Staten Island. In 2020, the couple adopted a son.