Chuck Schumer calls for Bob Menendez to resign following guilty verdict on bribery charges
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called on Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., to resign following his guilty verdict in a federal corruption trial Tuesday.
Menendez was found guilty on all 18 charges of bribery for receiving cash, gold bars, a luxury car and other items in exchange for using his political influence to aid three New Jersey businessmen.
"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 released shortly after the verdict came down.
It's the first time Schumer has publicly asked the senior senator from New Jersey to step aside, despite more than half of the Democratic caucus doing so last year when the indictment against him was first unsealed.
Before the indictment, Menendez served as the chair of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he wielded significant influence over U.S. aid to foreign governments. He temporarily stepped down from that role when the charges were unsealed.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, too, immediately reiterated a previous call for Menendez to resign following the verdict and said that if Menendez doesn't resign, the Senate should vote to expel him. Today's verdict "demonstrates that the Senator broke the law, violated the trust of his constituents, and betrayed his oath of office," he said.
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., has also previously called upon Menendez to resign. In a statement released Tuesday, he said that has become even more urgent with the guilty verdict.
"Representing people in Congress demands the public's trust," he said. "When any elected official violates that trust, it is a betrayal of the oath we take to serve the people who've elected us."
Other Senate leaders called on Menendez to resign Tuesday, including Democratic Whip Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the second-ranking Democrat in the upper chamber; president pro tempore Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.; and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chair Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich.
Vulnerable Democrats in the Senate running for re-election also reiterated their calls for Menendez to resign, including Sens Jacky Rosen, D-N.V., and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio.
However, there is little indication that Menendez will heed their calls. He has remained defiant throughout the trial.
Outside the court, he told reporters that he is "deeply, deeply disappointed by the jury's decision" but said he is confident that "we will be successful upon appeal."
Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., and James Lankford, R-Okla., who lead the Senate Select Committee on Ethics, said in a statement Tuesday that they started an investigation into Menendez in 2023 when the indictment was unsealed.
"Now that Senator Menendez’s trial has concluded, the Committee will complete its investigation promptly. The Committee will consider the full range of disciplinary actions available under the Rules of Procedure," they said.