New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) and Rep. Mikie Sherrill (DN.J.) went further than other Democrats on Tuesday in calling on the Senate to expel Sen. Bob Menendez (DN.J.) following his conviction on 16 counts. of bribery, extortion, fraud and acting as a foreign agent.
Murphy, who would choose Menendez’s replacement to serve out the remainder of his term, which lasts until January 2025, called on Menendez to “immediately resign.”
“If he refuses to vacate his position, I ask the U.S. Senate to vote to expel him,” he said in a statement. “In the event of a vacancy, I will exercise my duty to make a temporary appointment to ensure the people of New Jersey have the representation they deserve.”
Sherrill called the verdict “extremely serious” and renewed her call for him to immediately resign from office.
“I once again call on Senator Menendez to resign immediately and for his access to classified national security information to be revoked,” she said in a statement. “If he refuses to resign from the Senate, he must be expelled.”
Murphy and Sherrill went further than other Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.), New Jersey Senator Cory Booker (D), and Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray (D- Wash.), who called on Menendez to resign on Tuesday following the verdict.
“In light of this guilty verdict, Senator Menendez must now do what is right for his constituents, the Senate and our country, and resign,” Schumer said in a statement.
But Schumer stopped short of announcing that he would otherwise introduce a resolution to expel Menéndez, as did several of his Democratic colleagues in the Senate.
A resolution to expel Menendez would need the support of two-thirds of the Senate to pass.
The last time the Senate voted to expel a senator was in 1862, when the chamber expelled Senators Trusten Polk (D-Mo.), Waldo Johnson (D-Mo.), and Jesse Bright (D-Ind.) for supporting The Confederate rebellion.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
