Primary challenger calls on Senate to vote on Menendez expulsion

Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) called on the Senate to hold a vote to expel Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) after prosecutors unveiled a superseding indictment earlier Thursday alleging that he acted as a foreign agent of the Egyptian government in recent years. 

The New Jersey senator and his wife, Nadine, were accused Thursday of conspiring with Wael Hana, a New Jersey businessman, to act as an agent of the Egyptian government from January 2018 through June 2022. The three all face a charge of conspiracy for a public official to act as a foreign agent.

Kim was among the very first lawmakers to call for his resignation weeks ago after he was charged with bribery and corruption and immediately launched a primary bid against the three-term senator. 

“As a former national security official who swore an oath to defend our Constitution, I cannot stand by as the Senator representing my family and my state has been accused of acting as a foreign agent,” Kim said Thursday. “Given the severity of these charges, the US Senate should vote on expulsion.”

Menendez is up for reelection next year. He has yet to announce whether he will seek a fourth term. 

While more than half of the Senate Democratic Caucus called on Menendez to resign last month — including Sen. Cory Booker (D), Menendez’s fellow Garden State member, and all of Senate Democratic leadership save for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) — most did not weigh in on whether Menendez should be expelled. 

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) is the lone member of the caucus to support Menendez’s expulsion. 

A recent survey among likely New Jersey Democratic voters in a hypothetical primary match-up between Kim, Menendez and Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.), a potential entrant in the race, shows Kim leading the incumbent senator by more than 20 points.