Schumer, Murphy lead calls for Menendez to resign after guilty verdict

Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) issued swift calls Tuesday for Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) to resign after he was convicted of taking bribes from three business executives who showered him and his wife with cash, gold bars and a Mercedes-Benz.

“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 statement.

Murphy reiterated his call for Menendez to step down from his Senate seat, saying in a statement that Menendez has to leave office “immediately after being found guilty of endangering national security and the integrity of our criminal justice system.”

Further, Murphy said, if Menendez refuses to step down, he will call on the Senate to vote to expel him. Because Democrats hold a thin majority in the Senate, Murphy said he would move fast to appoint an interim senator who would serve the remainder of Menendez’s term into January.

“In the event of a vacancy, I will exercise my duty to make a temporary appointment to ensure the people of New Jersey have the representation they deserve,” Murphy said.

Other Senate Democrats also doubled down on their calls for Menendez to leave office.

“Everyone deserves due process, and that’s what Senator Menendez has received,” Sen. Tina Smith (Minn.) said on X. “He should now resign immediately.”

“I have previously called on Senator Menendez to resign,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) said on X. “He has now been convicted of the serious crimes of bribery, fraud and extortion, and he must resign immediately.”

On Tuesday, a jury in Manhattan federal court found Menendez, a once-powerful New Jersey lawmaker, guilty on all 16 felony counts. They include bribery, extortion, wire fraud, conspiracy, obstruction of justice and acting as a foreign agent for Egypt from 2018 to 2022. Menendez was then at the height of his influence in D.C., serving as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee or as the panel’s top Democrat while his party was in the minority.

Democrats, particularly those from New Jersey, abandoned Menendez after his indictment. The senator declined to seek the party’s nomination for a fourth term and instead mounted a long-shot bid as an independent in a state where Democrats have held both U.S. Senate seats for more than 50 years.