Democrats consider expelling Menendez from the Senate after conviction in bribery trial

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Bob Menendez has shown no sign he will voluntarily resign from the Senate following his conviction on bribery charges, leaving Democratic senators contemplating an expulsion effort to force him from office.

While Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, has six months remaining in his term, Democrats have made clear they don’t want him in office any longer. Within minutes of the guilty verdict on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called for his resignation and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, who would name Menendez’s replacement, said that the Senate should expel Menendez if he refused to step down.

Expulsion, which requires a two-thirds majority, is an exceedingly rare step in the Senate. The last time it was even seriously considered by the chamber was almost 30 years ago, and only 15 senators — almost all during the Civil War — have ever been expelled.

Still, senators are preparing to make the push.

“He must stand up now and leave the Senate. He must do that, and if he refuses to do that, many of us, but I will lead that effort to make sure he is removed from the Senate,” Sen. Cory Booker, New Jersey’s other Democratic senator, told MSNBC late Tuesday. “That is the right thing to do. That is the just thing to do.”

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