Booker: Menendez conviction ‘a dark, painful day’ for New Jersey

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) called Sen. Robert Menendez’s conviction on federal charges of bribery and acting as a foreign agent “a dark, painful day” for New Jersey and re-upped his call for his resignation as the state’s senior senator. 

“Representing people in Congress demands the public's trust. When any elected official violates that trust, it is a betrayal of the oath we take to serve the people who’ve elected us. Without that trust, our ability to do our work and perform our duties for our constituents is compromised,” Booker, who has served alongside Menendez for more than a decade, said in a statement. 

Booker said that the now-convicted lawmaker must step aside from his seat — a move Menendez had steadfastly refused to do ever since he was indicted in the fall. 

“I call on Senator Menendez to resign. I originally did so last fall because of the severity of the allegations against him and how they shook the public’s trust,” Booker said. “Now, with this conviction, the urgency for Senator Menendez to step down and for the governor to appoint a replacement has even more urgency.”

Booker’s comments arrived shortly after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) issued his call for Menendez’s resignation. The Democratic leader had declined to take that step ever since he was indicted. 

Overall, well over half of the Senate Democratic caucus has publicly called for him to step down, including the entire Democratic leadership team.