US Senator Bob Menendez rejects calls to step down, vows to fight bribe charges
- Democratic Senator Bob Menendez defiantly pushed back against US federal corruption charges
- He has stepped down temporarily as chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee
US Democratic Senator Bob Menendez ignored calls to resign from his seat, denying wrongdoing and vowing to stay in Congress after prosecutors charged him and his wife with taking bribes from three New Jersey businessmen.
Some elected officials, including the Democratic governor of Menendez’s state of New Jersey, have publicly urged him to step down.
Former US House of Representatives speaker and senior Democrat Nancy Pelosi told MSNBC that she also felt Menendez should resign.
His decision to remain in the Senate may complicate his party’s efforts to maintain its narrow 51-49 majority in that chamber, although New Jersey has not elected a Republican to the Senate since 1972.
Menendez has stepped down temporarily from his role as chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Senate Democratic rules require any member charged with a felony to give up their leadership position, though they can take it back if they are found not guilty.