Bob Menendez

Robert Menendez (; born January 1, 1954) is an American former politician and lawyer who represented New Jersey in the United States Senate from 2006 until his resignation in 2024. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously represented New Jersey's 13th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1993 to 2006. His political career ended after he was convicted in a political corruption case in 2024, making him the first sitting member of Congress convicted of conspiracy to act as a foreign agent. In 1974, Menendez was elected to the Union City School District's Board of Education. He studied political science at Saint Peter's University and graduated from Rutgers Law School. In 1986, he was elected mayor of Union City. While continuing to serve as mayor, he was elected in 1988 to represent the state's 33rd district in the New Jersey General Assembly and moved to the New Jersey Senate in 1991 upon winning the special election for the 33rd Senate district. The next year, Menendez won a seat in the House of Representatives. In January 2006, Menendez was appointed by Governor Jon Corzine to fill his vacated Senate seat. He was elected to a full six-year term in November and reelected in 2012 and 2018. Menendez chaired the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations from 2013 to 2015 and from 2021 to 2023. Menendez was indicted on federal corruption charges in 2015; the jury was unable to reach a verdict, and the charges were dropped in 2018. In 2018, the United States Senate Select Committee on Ethics "severely admonished" Menendez for accepting gifts from donor Salomon Melgen without obtaining committee approval, failing to disclose certain gifts, and using his position as a senator to advance Melgen's interests. In September 2023, Menendez was again indicted...