WASHINGTON — Democrats are turning up the heat on Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., as more senators call on him to resign, with some threatening to expel him after he was found guilty Tuesday on 16 federal counts, including bribery and acting as a foreign agent.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who had previously chastised Menendez, joined the calls for the New Jersey Democrat to step down.
“In light of this guilty verdict, Senator Menendez must now do what is right for his constituents, the Senate, and our country, and resign,” Schumer said in a brief statement.
But other Senate Democrats, including two facing re-election in November, went beyond simply calling on him to quit and endorsed expulsion if he refuses to resign immediately; Senate rules do not require members to step down because of felony convictions.
“As I said when he was charged, public service is a sacred trust and Senator Menendez has broken that trust,” Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., said on X. “Now that a jury of his peers has found him guilty on all 16 charges, including acting as a foreign agent, Senator Menendez should resign or face expulsion from the Senate.”
Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., also said she'd support expelling him.
“Senator Menendez has been found guilty of political corruption by a jury of his peers,” Rosen said in a statement. “As I’ve already called for, I believe he should resign immediately from the U.S. Senate. If he refuses to resign, he should be expelled.”
After he was indicted, Menendez relinquished his chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as the trial went forward but continued to vote as a member of the panel and on the floor. That could rapidly become untenable after his conviction in a bribery scheme that included acting to benefit the governments of Egypt and Qatar.
The Senate Ethics Committee is already investigating Menendez and said Tuesday it would complete that probe "promptly." If Menendez declines to resign, the panel could make a recommendation that the Senate expel him. It takes two-thirds of the Senate, or 67 votes, to expel a member.
Since 1789, the Senate has expelled only 15 members, 14 of them for their role in the Confederacy. The last expulsion occurred in 1862, when a group of senators were removed for supporting the Confederates.
Several Democratic senators on Tuesday joined 31 of their colleagues who had already called on Menendez to resign prior to the verdict. The new names included Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, of Nevada; Tim Kaine, of Virginia; Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, both of Rhode Island; Tina Smith, of Minnesota; Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, both of Oregon; and Laphonza Butler, of California.
Vacating the seat could allow New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, to appoint a successor to finish out the remainder of Menendez's term, which ends in January; Murphy said after the verdict that Menendez should resign and, if not, he would support Senate expulsion.
Menendez's sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 29, just before Election Day, when voters will decide who should fill the seat for the next six years. Menendez has filed to run for re-election as an independent and indicated he will appeal the verdict without saying whether that will affect his re-election plans or if he plans to resign from the Senate.
Rep. Andy Kim is the Democratic nominee for Menendez's seat, and Curtis Bashaw is the Republican. "As a New Jerseyan, I think it’s important that we have new representation immediately," Kim said, saying that if Menendez doesn't resign, he expects the Senate to move forward with expulsion.
Sen. Steve Daines, of Montana, the chair of the GOP campaign arm, responded to the verdict with a short and quippy statement, saying: “I’m not surprised.”
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the Senate president pro tempore, accused Republicans of a double standard on whether people convicted of felonies should hold positions of power as the GOP rallies around Donald Trump as its presidential nominee.
“I strongly reiterate my call for him to step down. No one is above the law — it’s pretty straightforward. Now if only my Republican colleagues would apply the same standards to the convicted felon who is running for President of the United States as their nominee,” Murray said in a statement.
Outside the Senate, multiple Democrats with bigger ambitions also called on Menendez to step aside — including Rep. Ruben Gallego, who is running for an open Senate seat in Arizona; Rep. Abigail Spanberger, who is running for governor in Virginia; and Rep. Mikie Sherrill, who is seen as a potential candidate for governor in New Jersey.
“This is a sad day for the Garden State. Following this extremely serious verdict, I once again call on Senator Menendez to immediately resign and for his access to classified national security information to be revoked,” Sherrill said. “If he refuses to resign from the Senate, he should be expelled.”
