Report: Democrat Sen. Bob Menendez Plans to Resign After Bribery Conviction

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) has reportedly told allies that he will resign from Congress since he was convicted on all counts in his federal corruption trial.

An NBC News report said that the New Jersey Democrat, who has, so far, been defiant and refused to resign in the face of demands from dozens of Senate Democrats, has said that he will soon step down.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) have called on the New Jersey Democrat to resign.

“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 after Menendez was found guilty on all 16 federal charges brought against him.

NBC News reported:

The senator was convicted Tuesday on 16 federal counts related to using the power of his official position to enrich three New Jersey businessmen and benefit the Egyptian and Qatari governments. In exchange, the couple received lavish bribes, including “cash, gold bars, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a low-or-no-show job, a luxury vehicle and other items of value,” prosecutors said.

If Menendez were to resign, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) would appoint a senator to complete the term.

Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ) and Senate Republican nominee Curtis Bashaw are running to replace Menendez.

A poll conducted by Republican super PAC United 2024 found former President Donald Trump leading President Joe Biden in New Jersey, although the difference is within the survey’s margin of error.

Kim, a three-term congressman from New Jersey’s Third Congressional District in southern New Jersey, leads Bashaw 35 to 33 percent. Menendez, who was in the midst of his federal corruption trial when the poll was taken, is at six percent support.

Matt Mowers, a senior strategist for United 2024, said that the survey reveals that “voters have soured on the Biden-Harris administration and are ready to punish Democrats running down-ballot as a result for their lockstep support of their administration.”