Kim calls for Menendez’s expulsion in wake of foreign agent charge

In the wake of a new foreign agent charge against U.S. Senator Bob Menendez that was released today, Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown) – a candidate for Menendez’s seat in 2024 – is calling for the senator to be expelled from the Senate.

“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. “Given the severity of these charges, the US Senate should vote on expulsion.”

The new superseding indictment alleges that Menendez and his wife acted as unregistered foreign agents on behalf of the Egyptian government; Menendez had already been facing bribery charges for an alleged scheme to trade influence and sensitive information for cash and other gifts.

Those initial charges, which were unveiled in September, prompted widespread calls for Menendez’s resignation both in New Jersey and in the Senate, including from fellow New Jersey Senator Cory Booker. An expulsion vote, however, would take the matter several steps further. 

In order to expel a senator, a two-thirds majority of senators would have to vote in favor of an expulsion resolution. Theoretically, that could be brought by any senator at any time, but typically the process begins in the Senate Ethics Committee, which would then issue a recommendation on expulsion to the larger Senate.

No senator has been officially expelled since the 1860s, when a huge number of southern senators were expelled for supporting the Confederacy. In 1982, New Jersey Senator Harrison Williams was facing an expulsion vote over his role in the Abscam scandal, but he resigned before the Senate could officially vote to remove him.

Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman, the most vocally anti-Menendez senator, has floated the idea of introducing an expulsion resolution against Menendez. But Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who hasn’t publicly called for Menendez to resign, may not want to put the Senate through such a charged process – and Republicans may sink an expulsion vote even if he tries.

Menendez, for his part, has insisted that he’s innocent and resisted all calls to resign. His approval rating among New Jersey voters and party leaders has taken a colossal nosedive, however, and he’s very unlikely to be able to win renomination next year if he tries to run for re-election.

Kim was the first major candidate to launch a campaign against Menendez, entering the race just a day after Menendez was initially indicted, but he may not be the last. First Lady Tammy Murphy is considered a possible Senate candidate, as are several other top New Jersey Democrats.