(WASHINGTON) — With Sen. Bob Menendez having been found guilty by a jury, calls for him to resign are coming from the highest levels, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
But Menendez, at least for the time being, continues to hold his position as New Jersey’s senior senator.
Here’s what we know about what might happen to Sen. Menendez’s Senate seat.
Not required to resign
There’s no law that says Menendez cannot serve in the Senate despite a guilty conviction.
He can technically continue to serve until he is up for reelection if he so chooses not to step aside.
It was not immediately clear whether Menendez, who is currently running to reclaim his seat as an independent, will heed calls from fhis fellow New Jersey lawmakers and Senate leaders to resign.
If he chooses to hold on to his seat, the Senate does have a constitutionally-mandated option on disciplining its members: expulsion.
Expelling Menendez would require a vote of two thirds of the Senate. A senator would need to bring forward a resolution to expel him and then work it through the floor process. It’s unclear if there would be the votes necessary to expel him at this time.
Some Democratic senators are opening the door to an expulsion vote, however.
Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., for example, said in a post on X that Menendez should “resign or face expulsion from the Senate.”
If the Senate did manage to successfully expel Menendez, it would be truly historic. Only 21 members of Congress have ever been expelled and the Senate has expelled only 15 members. Fourteen of them were expelled during the Civil War for supporting the Confederacy.
There have been other instances when expulsion was considered, but the Senate either dropped the matter or the member left office before a vote. The last case of a senator being formally expelled from the upper chamber happerned in 1862.
Six House members have been expelled: Three of them were expelled for supporting the Confederacy, two of them Democrats. Rep. George Santos, who was booted from his House seat in December, made history as the first Republican House member to be expelled.
Menendez already voluntarily gave up his position as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in September. It’s unclear what if any security clearances Menendez currently holds, but his conviction could affect his ability to hold a clearance.
If he resigns or is expelled, Governor Phil Murphy chooses his replacement
Menendez is up for reelection this fall, so New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy would be responsible for appointing someone to temporarily fill the vacancy left by Menendez until his term expires.
Murphy issued a statement shortly after the jury announced its verdict in Menendez’s case reiterating his calls for Menendez to resign and calling on the Senate to act if he does not.
“I reiterate my call for Senator Menendez to resign immediately after being found guilty of endangering national security and the integrity of our criminal justice system,” Murphy said. “If he refuses to vacate his office, I call on the U.S. Senate to vote to expel him. 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.”
The already-scheduled election would go forward as usual this November to select a new permanent replacement for Menendez who would then be installed in January.
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