Menendez Informs Senate That He Will Not Resign

Democratic Senator Joe Manchin announced that Senator Bob Menendez told Senate Democrats today, Thursday, that he will not resign following his plea of innocence to federal charges of accepting bribes. Manchin stated to reporters after leaving the meeting that Menendez made this commitment during a closed meeting with members of his party caucus. At least 27 members of the Senate, in a caucus of 51 members, which consists of Democrats and three independents who typically vote with them, have called for Menendez's resignation. Among those demanding his resignation are Dick Durbin, the second-ranking member of Senate Democrats, and Gary Peters, chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, along with Senator Cory Booker, another representative from New Jersey with Menendez in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer stated on Wednesday that Menendez's behavior was below the standard expected from a member of the chamber but did not call for his resignation. Prosecutors have stated that Menendez and his wife Nadine accepted gold bars and hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for using their influence to intervene in law enforcement investigations involving three New Jersey businessmen and assist the Egyptian government. The senator and his wife pleaded not guilty in court on Wednesday. An election for Menendez's Senate seat will take place next year. New Jersey has not elected a Republican to the Senate since 1972, but Menendez's legal troubles may pose challenges for his party, which is trying to maintain its slim control in the chamber.