Democratic Freshman Max Rose Deploys With National Guard for Coronavirus Relief
WASHINGTON — Representative Max Rose, a freshman Democrat from New York, announced on Tuesday that he would deploy with the National Guard on Wednesday to assist the hard-hit city’s coronavirus response efforts, making him the first member of Congress to do so.
Mr. Rose, a captain in the Army National Guard and decorated combat veteran in Afghanistan who represents Staten Island and parts of southern Brooklyn, said he chose to deploy to “do my small part” to combat the pandemic, and would help set up field hospitals in Staten Island and other parts of New York.
With Congress in recess and members working remotely from their districts, Mr. Rose said he believed the severity of the situation in New York required him to take a more a hands-on role rather than attending to the seemingly endless string of conference calls, including town halls, and other socially distanced activities that now fill lawmakers’ days.
“I do see this as an opportunity to serve New York City and my community, and to serve on the ground from an operational perspective,” Mr. Rose said in an interview on Tuesday. “This is about working day-to-day to make sure we can withstand and weather this surge.”
Known in the halls of the Capitol as a swaggering (and sometimes profane) straight shooter, Mr. Rose ousted a Republican incumbent in 2018 in a district President Trump won by nearly 10 points, after a campaign built on his knack for retail politics and fund-raising prowess. His military background — he earned a Purple Heart and Bronze Star after he suffered injuries when his vehicle hit a roadside bomb in Afghanistan in 2013 — was a crucial piece of his biography that helped power his bid.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/31/us/politics/coronavirus-max-rose-new-york.html
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