Current:Home > ScamsSen. Cory Booker calls on Menendez to resign, joining growing list of Senate Democrats -TradeBridge
Sen. Cory Booker calls on Menendez to resign, joining growing list of Senate Democrats
View
Date:2025-04-17 04:24:29
Washington — Sen. Cory Booker called for fellow New Jersey Democrat Bob Menendez to resign from the Senate on Tuesday, joining a growing list of Democrats in the upper chamber who have called on him to step down after his indictment on federal bribery charges.
In a statement noting his close working relationship and friendship with Menendez, Booker said the allegations in last week's indictment were "hard to reconcile with the person I know." Nonetheless, he said senators "operate in the public trust," which he called "essential to our ability to do our work and perform our duties for our constituents."
"As Senator Menendez prepares to mount his legal defense, he has stated that he will not resign. Senator Menendez fiercely asserts his innocence and it is therefore understandable that he believes stepping down is patently unfair. But I believe this is a mistake," Booker said. "Stepping down is not an admission of guilt but an acknowledgment that holding public office often demands tremendous sacrifices at great personal cost. Senator Menendez has made these sacrifices in the past to serve. And in this case he must do so again. I believe stepping down is best for those Senator Menendez has spent his life serving."
Menendez and his wife are accused of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of bribes in exchange for using the senator's power and influence to enrich and protect three New Jersey businessmen and benefit Egypt's government. He has vigorously denied the charges, and rebuffed calls for his resignation in his first public comments on the case on Monday.
Who else has called for Menendez's resignation?
Booker joined more than a dozen other Senate Democrats who called for Menendez to step aside on Tuesday, when the dam appeared to break in the upper chamber. Just one Democratic senator, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, had called for his resignation over the weekend.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the Democratic senators who have said Menendez should resign include:
- Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin
- Michael Bennet of Colorado
- Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut
- Cory Booker of New Jersey
- Sherrod Brown of Ohio
- Bob Casey of Pennsylvania
- Tammy Duckworth of Illinois
- John Fetterman of Pennsylvania
- Kirsten Gillibrand of New York
- Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire
- Martin Heinrich of New Mexico
- Mazie Hirono of Hawaii
- Mark Kelly of Arizona
- Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota
- Ed Markey of Massachusetts
- Gary Peters of Michigan
- Jacky Rosen of Nevada
- Bernie Sanders of Vermont (an independent who caucuses with the Democrats)
- Jon Tester of Montana
- Raphael Warnock of Georgia
- Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts
- Peter Welch of Vermont
In the immediate wake of the unsealing of the indictment last Friday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York urged caution, calling Menendez "a dedicated public servant" who "has a right to due process and a fair trial." Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin likewise said the legal process should be allowed to "move forward without prejudice."
The tide began to shift with Fetterman's statement on Saturday. "Senator Menendez should resign. He's entitled to the presumption of innocence under our system, but he is not entitled to continue to wield influence over national policy, especially given the serious and specific nature of the allegations," the freshman Democrat said. "I hope he chooses an honorable exit and focuses on his trial."
Brown, of Ohio, echoed that call in a short statement Monday, hours after Menendez delivered his statement in New Jersey. "Senator Menendez has broken the public trust and should resign from the U.S. Senate," Brown said.
It took until Tuesday for more Democratic senators to demand Menendez step aside. Several of the senators who have now spoken out are up for reelection in 2024.
Most Republicans have been curiously silent. Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas was one of the few to comment on the case, and notably defended Menendez.
"The charges against Senator Menendez are serious and troubling. At the same time, the Department of Justice has a troubling record of failure and corruption in cases against public figures, from Ted Stevens to Bob McDonnell to Donald Trump to Bob Menendez the last time around," Cotton said, a reference to an earlier case against Menendez that ended in a mistrial in 2017.
Jack Turman, Alan He and Daniel Hollingworth contributed reporting.
veryGood! (916)
Related
- 'No Good Deed': Who's the killer in the Netflix comedy? And will there be a Season 2?
- Shakira reaches a deal with Spanish prosecutors on the first day of tax fraud trial
- Suspect arrested over ecstasy-spiked champagne that killed restaurant patron, hospitalized 7 others
- F1 exceeds Las Vegas expectations as Max Verstappen wins competitive race
- Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge
- Did police refuse to investigate a serial rapist? Inside the case rocking a Tennessee city
- No more Thanksgiving ‘food orgy’? New obesity medications change how users think of holiday meals
- No hot water for showers at FedEx Field after Commanders' loss to Giants
- Global Warming Set the Stage for Los Angeles Fires
- 'Saltburn' basks in excess and bleak comedy
Ranking
- What to know about Tuesday’s US House primaries to replace Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz
- F1 fans file class-action suit over being forced to exit Las Vegas Grand Prix, while some locals left frustrated
- FDA warns against eating recalled cantaloupe over salmonella risk
- Reactions to the death of Rosalynn Carter, former first lady and global humanitarian
- Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
- Israel says second hostage Noa Marciano found dead near Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital
- Man shot in head after preaching on street and urging people to attend church
- Calling all elves: Operation Santa seeking helpers to open hearts, adopt North Pole letters
Recommendation
DeepSeek: Did a little known Chinese startup cause a 'Sputnik moment' for AI?
Moviegoers feast on 'The Hunger Games' prequel, the weekend's big winner: No. 1 and $44M
Methodist Church approves split of 261 Georgia congregations after LGBTQ+ divide
Vogt resigns as CEO of Cruise following safety questions, recalls of self-driving vehicles
Trump wants to turn the clock on daylight saving time
NFL Pick 6 record: Cowboys' DaRon Bland ties mark, nears NFL history
Syracuse fires football coach Dino Babers after eight seasons
Aaron Nola returns to Phillies on 7-year deal, AP source says