Ex-Pentagon chief Gates joins Condoleezza Rice in new firm

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates is going into business with two other top officials from the George W. Bush administration.

Gates will join an international consulting firm headed by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former White House national security adviser Stephen Hadley.

Gates left his Pentagon job last year. He was the only senior member of the Bush administration who stayed on to work for Democratic President Barack Obama. Gates has described himself as a Republican.

When he left, Gates said he wanted to write books and relax at his home in Washington state.

The new firm, to be called RiceHadleyGates, is based in California and Washington, D.C.

An announcement was expected later Wednesday.