Sherrod Brown the latest Democrat to call on Bob Menendez to resign after indictment

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) called on Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) to resign Monday after the New Jersey Democrat and his wife were federally indicted by a grand jury on bribery charges.

Federal prosecutors have accused Menendez and his wife, Nadine, of illegally using the senator’s position as the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to peddle influence with donors and benefit the Egyptian government in exchange for cash, gold bars, and other valuables. The senator has dismissed the charges as part of a larger “smear campaign” against him and vowed to fight them.

DEMOCRATS DIVIDED OVER BOB MENENDEZ’S FUTURE IN THE SENATE

“Sen. Menendez has broken the public trust and should resign from the U.S. Senate,” Brown, a Democrat up for reelection in one of the most competitive states this cycle, said in a brief statement.

Brown’s reputation as an unabashed progressive in an increasingly red state has made him a prime target of Senate Republicans as they look to reclaim control of the upper chamber. Despite benefiting from the power of incumbency, strong name recognition, and high approval ratings, the 2024 race will be the highest-profile fight of his career.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, have been working for months to recruit the most electable candidates in key swing states to retake the majority next year. Both men have said their path to victory relies on wins in Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, four states with Democratic incumbents up for reelection.

Most Senate Democrats have demurred on the matter while acknowledging the seriousness of the allegations. Brown is only the second member of the conference to call for the New Jersey Democrat’s resignation.

The first was Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), who, along with his staff, has been vocal on social media comparing how the media has treated the Menendez matter with the recent scrutiny he’s faced for his casual dress.

“More Senators, both republicans and democrats, have forcefully denounced how John Fetterman dresses than have called for Menedez to resign for being corrupt,” Fetterman spokesman Joe Calvello wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “This is a perfect snap shot of what is wrong with Washington and why people outside the beltway have no faith in DC.”

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Senators typically return to their home states for the weekend on Thursday and head back to Washington on Monday or Tuesday, depending on how leadership has scheduled votes for the week. The Menendez indictment was handed down on Friday, meaning that members have yet to have the chance to discuss the matter in person.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), who serves with the New Jersey Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in an interview on Sunday that he wanted “to get back and talk to my colleagues” on the panel “before I recommend a path forward for Sen. Menendez.”