Sen. Bob Menendez’s sought-after seat on the Finance Committee could — eventually — open up as a result of the federal bribery charges he’s facing and growing calls for his resignation.
While the New Jersey Democrat has said he expects to be exonerated and remain his state’s senior senator, mounting pressure could lead to an opening on the tax-writing Finance panel.
It’s unlikely — though possible — that Senate Democrats would take the rare step of stripping Menendez of his committee assignments. But if he chooses to resign, they’d need to fill the slot to avoid a deadlock with Republicans on Finance that could gum up nominations and legislation.
New York prosecutors announced the indictment of Menendez, his wife Nadine and three New Jersey businessmen late last week, saying that Menendez and his wife accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars, gold bars and a luxury car in exchange for Menendez using his Senate post to benefit the businessmen and government of Egypt.
Menendez stepped aside as Senate Foreign Relations chairman following the announcement, but he didn’t give up his committee seats including posts on Finance and the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. Party rules require senators to temporarily relinquish chair or ranking member slots, but say nothing about stepping off committees entirely.
A spokesperson for Menendez did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In response to calls for him to resign, Menendez has said he isn’t going anywhere.
“I recognize that this will be the biggest fight yet, but as I have stated throughout this whole process, I firmly believe that when all the facts are presented, not only will I be exonerated but I still will be New Jersey’s senior senator,” Menendez told supporters at a community college in New Jersey on Monday.
More than two dozen Senate Democrats had called for Menendez to resign as of presstime. Seven of Finance’s 14 Democrats were among the senators who had called for him to step down, including Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, who also chairs the Banking panel and faces a potentially tough 2024 reelection bid.
A spokesperson for Finance Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., did not respond to a request for comment.
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement last Friday that Menendez had rightly decided to step down temporarily from his chairmanship but didn’t mention other committee duties.
Schumer said that 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.”
Precedent for sticking it out
If Menendez chooses to retain his seat — as he’s said he will — Senate Democrats could still move to oust him from Finance. But while the House has stripped lawmakers of committee seats for a range of reasons, it’s not a step the Senate typically takes, including when members are facing legal or ethical complaints.
Oregon Republican Bob Packwood remained Finance chairman as the Senate considered expelling him due to sexual harassment and misconduct allegations; Packwood eventually said he’d resign and then, under pressure, relinquished the Finance gavel. Packwood resigned in 1995 rather than face expulsion.
Before that, GOP Sen. Dave Durenberger, R-Minn., got in hot water for financial misconduct, including over a book deal and improper payments for a Minneapolis condominium he owned. The Finance member was ultimately censured by the Senate in 1990, but never gave up his committee seats.
John Ensign, a Nevada Republican and Finance member, stayed on his committees until he resigned from the Senate in 2011 amid an Ethics Committee investigation into an extramarital affair and evidence he’d taken illegal actions to cover it up.
Menendez himself didn’t step off Finance or his other regular panel assignments after an earlier indictment, in 2015.
Forcing Menendez out of the Finance seat could also create problems for Democrats. Senate Republicans blocked a replacement on the Judiciary Committee for Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, as she recovered from shingles and related health complications. Her absence stopped Democrats from advancing judicial nominations.
It’s unclear if the GOP would go along with replacing Menendez, or complicate the process by slowing it down on the Senate floor.
While Judiciary processes a huge volume of nominees, Finance takes up fewer appointments and only occasionally votes to report out legislation. When it does, however, it is usually on hugely consequential policies including taxes, trade and health care.
The committee’s ratio is currently 14-13 in favor of Democrats. If that became 13-13 due to Menendez’s departure and Democrats were unable to fill the slot, it would require an extra procedural step on the Senate floor to bring up any Finance bills that the panel deadlocked on during a markup.
‘Generous donations’
Finance is considered a top-tier committee assignment given its expansive purview, so an open seat on the panel could draw particular interest.
“Winning a seat on the Senate tax-writing committee guarantees members that they will attract generous donations from banks, insurance companies, real estate agents, accountants, and securities and investment firms,” according to OpenSecrets.org, which tracks campaign finance and lobbying. “Decisions by Senate Finance Committee members affect a lot of companies’ bottom lines and when lawmakers are crafting major tax legislation, the corridors of Capitol Hill are packed with interest groups and lobbyists.”
Senate Democratic rules designate Finance as one of three “exclusive” committees that caucus members can’t serve on more than one of unless a waiver is granted. The others are Appropriations and Armed Services.
The most senior senators who caucus with Democrats and don’t currently hold one of those top-tier committee posts include Vermont independent Bernie Sanders and Minnesota’s Amy Klobuchar.
Sanders said Tuesday on X, formerly Twitter, that Menendez should resign, and that the Senate must immediately launch an ethics investigation if he doesn’t. Klobuchar told the Star Tribune on Tuesday that she believes Menendez should resign.
Sanders currently has a big job as chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions panel, and has passed up opportunities to seek a Finance seat in the past. Klobuchar is currently chair of the Rules and Administration panel.
Other Democrats on the Armed Services panel could possibly throw their hats in the ring for the Finance seat, citing the precedent of Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who currently holds spots on Finance and Armed Services.
Specifically, Democratic rules stipulate that no caucus member can serve on more than one of the three exclusive committees until every member serves on at least one – unless they were on more than one before the rule was adopted or a waiver is granted. Senate Armed Services Chairman Jack Reed, D-R.I., also serves on Appropriations, for example.
Other potential contenders, based on seniority, could be Edward J. Markey — though that would mean Democrats doubling up on Massachusetts representation, which would also require a waiver — or Cory Booker, the junior New Jersey Democrat.
Booker called on Menendez to step down on Tuesday, and the Garden State will clearly lose some clout otherwise if its senior senator departs.
If no seat opens up this time, the 119th Congress will present new opportunities for Democrats to get on Finance. Depending on what happens with Menendez and the Democrats’ majority in the 2024 elections, there could be multiple seats opening up in 2025.
Michigan’s Debbie Stabenow, Maryland’s Benjamin L. Cardin and Delaware’s Thomas R. Carper are all retiring. Brown has a competitive race. And even if Menendez sticks around for the time being, he may not survive the 2024 elections.
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