Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) said on Friday that New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez should resign as he faces an indictment that alleges he accepted bribes from businessmen in a scheme that benefitted the Egyptian government.
“I’m appalled,” Phillips told CNN’s Manu Raju. “A member of Congress who appears to have broken the law is someone who I believe should resign.”
“Yes, the answer is absolutely,” he said, when asked whether Democratic leaders should push him out.
After facing numerous scandals in his nearly 40-year political career, Menenedez is confronting significant legal charges that allege he used his political power to interfere with a federal investigation and benefit a foreign country that the U.S. does not count as a consistent ally. Before Friday, he had indicated that he would still run for reelection in 2024.
Phillips, one of the more moderate members of the House Democratic caucus, has consistently called for aging politicians to move on from public life — many of them from his own party. For more than a year, he has said that President Joe Biden should not run for reelection, and he has also called for Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) to resign as she faces questions over her capacity to serve. He has also said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell should step down.
Elected to the House in 2018, Phillips considered running against Biden in the Democratic presidential primary until recently and called on others to step into the race.
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