Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called for Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) to resign Tuesday, joining a growing chorus of Senate Democrats reacting to his indictment on federal bribery charges.
“Yes,” Warren told The Boston Globe. “These are serious charges, and it’s time for Sen. Menendez to step away from the Senate and concentrate on his legal defense.”
The call by Warren is among the most prominent of any Senate Democrat who has taken that step given her status as a leader among progressives.
The Massachusetts Democrat is the eighth member of her caucus to call for Menendez to step down, after he and his wife, Nadine, were accused of accepting “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in bribes in exchange for using his “power and influence” to financially benefit a trio of New Jersey businessmen.
Menendez has shown no signs of backing down and caving to those resignation calls, telling reporters in Union City, N.J., on Monday that he isn’t going anywhere.
“The allegations leveled against me are just that: allegations,” Menendez told the crowd. “I recognized that this will be the biggest fight yet. But as I have stated through this whole process, I firmly believe that when all of the facts are presented, not only will I be exonerated, but I will still be New Jersey’s senior senator.”
Despite growing calls for him to leave office, Senate Democratic leadership have yet to push for Menendez’s exit.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Friday that he backed the New Jersey Democrat’s decision to once again step down from his chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, but he declined to go any further.
In addition, Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), the party’s No. 2 and No. 3 Senate leaders, also have declined to call for his resignation.