Four Senate Democrats in tough races said Tuesday that Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) should resign or face a vote of expulsion from the Senate after a New York jury found him guilty on 16 counts of bribery, extortion, fraud, obstruction of justice and acting as a foreign agent.
Their statements will ratchet up pressure on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to bring an expulsion resolution to the Senate floor or refer the matter to the Senate Select Committee on Ethics.
“Sen. Menendez has been found guilty of political corruption by a jury of his peers,” Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) 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.”
Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) delivered a similar ultimatum to his New Jersey colleague in the wake of his conviction.
“As I said when he was charged, public service is a sacred trust and Sen. Menendez has broken that trust. Now that a jury of his peers has found him guilty on all 16 charges, including acting as a foreign agent, Sen. Menendez should resign or face expulsion from the Senate,” he said in a statement posted on the social media site X.
Two other vulnerable Democrats, Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), said they are prepared to vote to expel Menendez.
“Today’s guilty verdict affirms what I called for last fall: Sen. Menendez should immediately resign from office. If he does not, I would vote to expel him,” Tester said in a short statement posted on social media.
Baldwin said the “crimes Sen. Menendez was found guilty of violate the American people’s trust and have compromised his ability to effectively represent his constituents.”
“As I have said for months, he should resign, but if he refuses, I am prepared to vote to expel him,” she posted on X.
Schumer called on Menendez to resign Tuesday but stopped short of threatening expulsion.
“In light of this guilty verdict, Senator Menendez must now do what is right for his constituents, the Senate, and our country, and resign,” he said.
Other Democratic senators on Tuesday issued new calls for Menendez to resign.
They included Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.) and Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.).
