Former US presidential hopeful and Maltese descendent Pete Buttigieg has joined the transition team of president-elect Joe Biden.

Buttigieg, whose father was Maltese, was one of the candidates in the Democratic primaries. He initially started well, even winning the Iowa primary, but dropped out of the race in March as his momentum dried up.  He later endorsed Joe Biden in the race for the US Presidency.

CNN, Bloomberg, Axios – who say that Buttigieg is a near-certainty for Biden’s Cabinet – and other media outlets all reported that he is now a member of the transition team as Biden prepares to take the Presidency this coming January.

Buttigieg, who is the mayor of South Bend in Indiana, is part of a 15-person advisory board alongside former national security adviser Susan Rice; Vivek Murthy, the US surgeon general under former President Barack Obama, and Sally Yates, former deputy attorney general, among others.

Buttigieg had been named as a member of the team in September, well in advance of the election.