Is Bob Menendez resigning?

After multiple calls for U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NY) to resign following his indictment in Sept. 2023 for federal corruption, is the Democrat from New Jersey finally resigning his seat?

Governor Phil Murphy, Senator Cory Brooker, and countless other Democrats have been calling for Bob Menendez to resign or face the threat of expulsion from the Senate. The lawyer and politician, who has held the senior United States senator seat from New Jersey since 2006, was indicted for the second time last year in September after his first indictment in 2015 on federal corruption charges.

In the previous indictment, the jury could not reach a verdict, and the charges were dropped in 2018. However, Menendez was again indicted on federal corruption charges, stating that he aided and provided sensitive information to the government of Egypt. The Senator was then indicted again in March 2024 for obstruction of justice, followed by an official conviction on 16 felony counts on July 16.

Due to public and party pressure, Bob Menendez stepped down as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee but refused to resign from the Senate, repeatedly denying any wrongdoing. Menendez stuck to his position in the face of resignation calls from several state and congressional Democrats, including thirty of his Senate colleagues. But has his stance finally changed?

Bob Menendez is out

Menendez finally submitted his resignation letter to the Senate records on Tuesday, July 24, after he was found guilty of bribery, extortion, and acting as a foreign agent, among 16 charges. However, his resignation will come into effect from Aug. 20 (the man wants another month’s worth of his salary and allowances) and his sentencing is scheduled to take place on Oct. 29.

New Jersey’s current Democratic governor, Philip D. Murphy, will soon appoint a replacement as soon as Menendez gets off the seat, to serve until the end of the term in January. Meanwhile, Menendez has announced that he would still run in New Jersey’s 2024 U.S. Senate election as an independent candidate under the party named “Menendez for Senate.” …But does anyone want him back?