Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the country’s growing skepticism about government should prompt Sen. Robert Menendez to resign amid federal bribery and corruption charges.
“It would probably be a good idea if he did resign,” Mrs. Pelosi, California Democrat, told MSNBC’s Jen Psaki on Monday.
Mrs. Pelosi is arguably the most prominent Democrat to call for the New Jersey Democrat’s resignation.
She noted Rep. George Santos, New York Republican, who is facing federal charges of fraud and money laundering and has been pressed by members of his party to resign. And she argued that the Republican Party “doesn’t believe in governance” is a reason for Mr. Menendez to resign.
Mr. Menendez and his wife are accused of taking bribes from three New Jersey businessmen in exchange for providing confidential information to benefit the Egyptian government. In his first public remarks since being formally indicted, Mr. Menendez said Monday that he is not guilty and that he will not resign.
He stepped down Friday as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee due to caucus rules.
Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the first Democrat to call for Mr. Menendez’s resignation, followed by Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio.
“Senator Menendez has broken public trust,” Mr. Brown said in a statement.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, New York Democrat, said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that Mr. Menendez should resign.
“The situation is quite unfortunate, but I do believe that it is in the best interest for Sen. Menendez to resign in this moment,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said. “It shouldn’t matter whether it’s a Republican or a Democrat. The details in this indictment are extremely serious.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the senator’s charges are a “serious matter,” but did not explicitly say he should resign.
“I think, and we believe, the senator stepping down from his chairmanship was the right thing to do, obviously,” Ms. Jean-Pierre said. “As it relates to anything else, any decision that he has to make, that’s certainly going to be up to him and the Senate leadership to decide. But of course, we see this as a serious matter.”
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.