New Jersey Democrats double down on calls for Menendez to step down

New Jersey Democrats are doubling down on their calls for Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) to resign his seat, after the senator was found guilty Tuesday on all 16 counts in his federal corruption and bribery trial.

“Today’s verdict finding Senator Bob Menendez guilty on 16 counts demonstrates that the Senator broke the law, violated the trust of his constituents, and betrayed his oath of office,” Gov. Phil Murphy (D-N.J.) wrote in a statement to The Hill. “If he refuses to vacate his office, I call on the U.S. Senate to vote to expel him.”

“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,” he added.

Murphy, along with Rep. Mikie Sherril (D-N.J.) went even further than most, calling for the senator to be expelled.

Menendez, and his wife Nadine, were charged last year for taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in the form of cash, gold bars and lavish gifts from businessmen in the Garden State — and accused of acting as a foreign agent of Egypt. The businessmen benefited from Menendez’s political power in exchange for the bribes, prosecutors said in the indictment.

The jury had been deliberating the case since Friday.

The New Jersey senator, who pleaded not guilty and vowed to appeal the case, has rebuked the calls to resign and launched an independent bid for reelection days ahead of the state’s filing deadline. He did, however, agree to step down as the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. 

Rep. Andy Kim, who won the Democratic nomination to replace Menendez, said the conviction marks “a sad and somber day for New Jersey and our country.” 

“I called on Senator Menendez to step down when these charges were first made public, and now that he has been found guilty, I believe the only course of action for him is to resign his seat immediately,” he said. “The people of New Jersey deserve better.”

Kim launched a challenge to Menendez just one day after federal prosecutors indicted him, and he was one of the first prominent New Jersey Democrats to call for his resignation. 

Menendez has faced corruption charges before, but the 2017 trial against him ended in a mistrial and the charges were dismissed. During that trial, most State Democrats stood by the senator and did not call for him to stand down. He won reelection in 2018. 

During that trial, fellow Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) testified as a character witness, but after the current indictment was publicly released, Booked joined the calls for Menendez to step down. 

“This is a dark, painful day for the people of New Jersey,” he wrote Tuesday in a statement to The Hill. “I call on Senator Menendez to resign.”

“I originally did so last fall because of the severity of the allegations against him and how they shook the public’s trust,” Booker continued. “Now, with this conviction, the urgency for Senator Menendez to step down and for the governor to appoint a replacement has even more urgency.”

Leroy Jones, the state’s Democratic Party chair, told The Hill that the verdicts “are incredibly sobering.”

“This is a sad day for New Jersey and our country,” he said. “We again call on the Senator to resign his Senate seat and allow us all to move forward.” 

Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, who is running for governor in 2025, also echoed Murphy’s call for an expulsion vote. 

“As we turn the page now, Bob Menendez‘s legacy is cemented as a permanent embarrassment to NJ as one of the most corrupt elected officials to ever serve in a state that has unfortunately had its share of bad actors,” he wrote in a statement.

“The Senate should absolutely expel him,” he added. 

Sue Altman, the executive director of the New Jersey Working Families Alliance and Democratic nominee for New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, hailed the conviction, calling Menendez “a corrupt dinosaur from an era of Jersey politics that is thankfully coming to a close.”

“His conduct is an embarrassment to our state, and he should resign immediately,” she told The Hill in a statement. “Change is in the air — people are clamoring for fresh, new leadership in both parties. Out with old, calcified, corrupt political entities and individuals. It’s time for something better.”

Menendez said he plans on appealing the verdict and did not respond to questions from reporters asking if he would step down. His sentencing is set for Oct. 29, just days before the election.

“I’m deeply disappointed by the jury’s decision,” he said. “I have never violated my public oath. I’ve never been anything but a patriot of my country and for my country.”