Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin became the highest-ranking Senate Democrat to say Sen. Robert Menendez should quit over bribery and public corruption charges.
“Leaders in New Jersey, including the governor and my Senate colleague Cory Booker, have made it clear that Sen. Menendez can no longer serve,” Mr. Durbin of Illinois posted on X. “He should step down.”
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer remained the only Democratic leader to refrain from saying the New Jersey Democrat should resign.
Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow, the No. 3 Democrat, and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, fourth in the party, have said Mr. Menendez should leave office, in addition to the Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, chairman of the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm.
Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, a member of the Democratic leadership who is third in line to the presidency as Senate president pro tempore, also said Mr. Menendez should resign.
More than half of the 51-member Democratic Caucus has called on Mr. Menendez to resign, including Mr. Booker, a fellow New Jerseyan and longtime ally.
New York prosecutors say Mr. Menendez and his wife, Nadine Arslanian, received lavish gifts from three New Jersey businessmen — including around $500,000 in cash, gold bars worth more than $100,000 and a luxury car — in exchange for information to benefit the tycoons and the Egyptian government.
Mr. Menendez remains defiant about resigning and denies any wrongdoing, but he was forced to step down as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
He pleaded not guilty at an arraignment hearing Wednesday in federal court in New York.
Mr. Schumer’s only public remarks on the matter as of Wednesday morning were made last week following Mr. Menendez’s move to step down as committee chairman.
“Bob Menendez has been a dedicated public servant and is always fighting hard for the people of New Jersey,” the New York Democrat said. “He has a right to due process and a fair trial.”
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