Citing a time when Gov. Phil Murphy (D) called him an “indispensable senator,” U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) penned a letter indicating he will be resigning on August 20th, one week after a federal grand jury convicted him on all 16 counts.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“While I fully intend to appeal the jury’s verdict, all the way and including to the Supreme Court, I do not want the Senate to be involved in a lengthy process that will detract from its important work,” Menendez wrote in a letter to Murphy today.
“Furthermore, I cannot preserve my rights upon a successful appeal, because factual matters before the ethics committee are not privileged. This is evidenced by the Committee’s Staff Director and Chief Counsel being called to testify at my trial.”
He continued that he is proud of leading the way to get federal relief for New Jerseyans during Superstorm Sandy, advocating for getting the funding for the Gateway Tunnel project, providing aid for the state, municipalities, and hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“These successes led you, Governor, to call me the ‘Indispensable Senator.’ I thank the citizens of New Jersey for the extraordinary privilege of representing them in the United States Senate.”
The New Jersey Globe first reported he would be resigning next month.
Menendez had one of the most meteoric rises in New Jersey history.
He was elected to the Union City school board at 20 years old in 1974, before getting voted in as a city commissioner, and then becoming Union City mayor after testifying against his mentor, William Musto.
After that his upward trajectory continued as a state assemblyman, then a state senator, before serving in Congress, and finally, being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006.
While New Jersey’s senior senator saw a federal corruption trial in Newark federal court end in a hung jury in November 2017, he was not as fortunate with the case brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York in September.
Followed by three superseding indictments, Menendez, along with his wife Nadine, were accused of accepting gold bars, cash, and a car in exchange for his influence.
He was also convicted of acting as a foreign agent to Egypt and for accepting bribes from co-defendant Fred Daibes to advocate for him to get a development deal with the Qatar government.
Murphy is now in a unique position, as he will be the one to appoint an interim senator before New Jersey voters elect Menendez’s successor on November 5th.
His wife, First Lady Tammy Murphy, ran for the Democratic nomination for Senate before dropping out in March. U.S. Rep. Andy Kim (D-3) became the Democratic nominee in a blowout and he will face off with hotelier Curtis Bashaw, the Republican nominee, in the fall.
“Today, I received a letter from Senator Bob Menendez informing me of his intention to resign effective August 20, 2024. I will exercise my duty to make a temporary appointment to the United States Senate to ensure the people of New Jersey have the representation they deserve,” the governor said in a statement.
NJ Advance Media reported that Kim is not on the list of potential appointments. Instead, Tammy Murphy, Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-12), and Gov. Murphy’s former chief of staff, George Helmy, are in the mix.
However, Tammy Murphy has since ruled herself out of the running.
“I am thrilled that New Jersey will soon have the representation we need and deserve in the U.S. Senate,” she wrote on X.
“While I’m grateful for the humbling support and outreach I’ve received since last year, I want to reiterate that I will not accept an appointment to the U.S. Senate.”
Gov. Murphy, along with Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, a Democratic candidate for governor, and Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla, who unsuccessfully challenged U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez (D-8), the senator’s son, in the June 4th primary, had all called for Senator Menendez to step down in September.
They reiterated those calls after he was convicted last week, joined by the likes of other local leaders such as Jersey City Ward E Councilman James Solomon and 2nd Ward Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher, both potential mayoral candidates.
