Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey will resign his seat effective August 20, CNN reports.
In July, Menendez was convicted of 16 counts — including bribery, extortion, wire fraud, obstruction of justice and acting as a foreign agent — for his role in a yearslong bribery scheme.
Menendez had faced mounting pressure from within his own party to resign or face the threat of expulsion from the Senate.
Receipt of Menendez’s resignation letter was announced Tuesday on the Senate floor in a brief exchange between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Presiding Officer Sen. Peter Welch, a Democrat from Vermont.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, is expected to appoint a replacement to fill the remainder of Menendez’s term, which ends on January 3, 2025.
Democratic Rep. Andy Kim and Republican Curtis Bashaw are set to face off in the November general election for the seat. Menendez, who had been up for reelection this year, had previously filed to run as an independent. Menendez did not immediately say whether he still intends to run as an independent.
Menendez has represented New Jersey in Congress as a Democrat since being elected in 1992, first as a US representative and then as senator.
Menendez, who faces sentencing on October 29, has maintained he never violated his public oath and has said he has never been anything “but a patriot of my country and for my country.”
“Obviously, I’m deeply, deeply disappointed by the jury’s decision,” Menendez told reporters outside the courtroom after he was found guilty. “I have every faith that the law and the facts did not sustain that decision and that we will be successful upon appeal.”
Menendez stepped down as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last year, but had long rejected calls to resign his US Senate seat.
