Sure, GOP Rep. George Santos is bad news. But Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez is much worse.

I realize this may be asking a lot, but wouldn’t it be great if so many of our politicians weren’t unscrupulous creeps? 

These days, after scanning the headlines about the folks “running” the government, I often feel like I need a shower. 

It seems like an almost daily occurrence that a current or former elected official lands in court for one shady misdeed or another. Government corruption almost seems normal.

It shouldn’t be.

Between the alarming attack on Israel this month and the Republicans bungling their House leadership, some of the latest scandals haven't gotten the amount of attention they deserve.

Republicans fiddle while world burns: Listen up, Republicans. The world is in chaos, so why are you playing stupid games?

Let me refresh you on what’s been happening. 

Foreign Relations Committee chair – or foreign agent?

The charges keep coming for Sen. Bob Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey. A career politician to his core, Menendez has spent decades in Congress, between his time in the House and now the Senate. 

His seniority earned him the powerful position of chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which he is now charged with abusing for his personal gain. Menendez had to step down from that role while his case plays out, but he doesn’t appear to be leaving office anytime soon – at least of his own accord. 

Last week, Menendez was slapped with additional charges of conspiracy to act as a foreign agent. That is on top of last month's indictment on bribery charges. 

Stop and think about that: The (now former) chair of Foreign Relations, a committee that reviews treaties with other nations and votes on all diplomatic nominations, is accused of acting as a foreign agent for hire.

Harvard for Hamas? Something is very twisted on America's university campuses.

What he’s accused of is extremely serious. Menendez – along with his wife – is charged in part with benefiting the Egyptian government as well as several businessmen in exchange for hundreds of thousands in gold bars and cash. Some of the loot was found at his home – hidden in closets and clothes, which doesn’t seem suspicious at all.

And for good measure, throw in a Mercedes convertible worth more than $60,000, which prosecutors say business executives purchased for the senator and his wife in exchange for Menendez interfering in an insurance fraud case.

It's not the first time Menendez has had a run-in with the law involving bribery charges. In 2017, a federal jury deadlocked on whether to convict the senator, which led to a mistrial.

See a pattern here? 

Menendez, according to historians, may be the first sitting senator in U.S. history to have been indicted in two different criminal cases, a distinction no one should strive for. 

Not a time for whataboutism 

Now, if you’re a liberal, I can bet what you’re thinking: “Well, look at former President Donald Trump!” or “How about Rep. George Santos?” 

Trump has been indicted in four criminal cases, as well as a civil fraud case, all of which are unprecedented for a former president (who also is, of course, the leading Republican candidate for president in 2024). 

Time for change: Sure, Trump is awful. But that doesn't mean Biden is a good choice for president.

Then there's curious George. Last week, a new indictment alleges Santos stole the identities of campaign donors and used donors’ credit cards as his own personal piggy bank. That comes five months after he was charged with other financial crimes. 

It’s really no wonder that his campaign coffers are in arrears. 

There’s also the fact that Santos made up his entire résumé. He’s a first-class sleazebag. 

Yet, unlike Menendez, Santos is a freshman congressman, one who is unlikely to make it to his sophomore term (assuming voters are paying attention). 

Menendez had a position of leadership and real power, and Democrats kept promoting him despite earlier warning signs. What Menendez is accused of doing deserves to be scrutinized on its own accord. 

Bribing for access: Menendez indictment raises questions about Hunter Biden case – and DOJ

What to do with these congressional creeps?

The question remains: What to do with these bad actors? 

It’s easy for Democrats to scream and yell that Santos is a disgrace and must go. And Republicans like to do the same to Democrats. For instance, Republicans have called for Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a Democrat from New York, to be expelled from the House after he pulled a fire alarm before a key vote to keep the government open. Bowman says it was a "mistake," and his office released a memo in his defense that labeled Republicans as "Nazis."

Regardless, it’s an odd “mistake” for a former school principal to make and a bizarre incident, even if it doesn’t rise to the level of expulsion. But I digress. 

The bar for expelling a House member is high, and it has only happened a few times in our country’s history. Of the 15 times the Senate has expelled a member, 14 occurred during the Civil War for supporting the Confederacy. 

Unfortunately, partisanship often comes before principle. The fact remains that with thin margins of control in the House and Senate, both sides need as many warm bodies as they can get, regardless of how repugnant. 

Some New York Republicans have called for the House to expel Santos, although that’s not likely to happen. The same goes for the Senate. Quite a few Democrats have called on Menendez to resign, but they’re not likely to take the matter further. 

At the least, Menendez and Santos could be censured by their colleagues and face that embarrassment. 

These men deserve their day in court, but I'm less certain they should be roaming the halls of Congress.

The surest way to rid the government of (alleged) weasels is for voters to make sure they don’t get the chance again. 

Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at Paste BN. You can contact her at ijacques@usatoday.com or on X, formerly Twitter: @Ingrid_Jacques