CONSEQUENCES

Menendez Bows Out as Foreign Relations Chairman Amid Bribery Charges

Menendez and his wife face federal bribery charges.

Just hours after Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and his wife were indicted on federal bribery charges, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced that Menendez will no longer serve as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “Bob Menendez has been a dedicated public servant and is always fighting hard for the people of New Jersey. He has a right to due process and a fair trial,” Schumer said in a statement. “Senator Menendez has rightly decided to step down temporarily from his position as Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee until the matter has been resolved.” Menendez is accused of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in payoffs—paid out in part via gold bars and a Mercedes—from three New Jersey businessmen in exchange for favors from the high-ranking senator.