WASHINGTON — Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., on Thursday became the first senator to say he supports a vote to expel embattled Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., from the Senate over the federal bribery charges that have rocked Capitol Hill.
Fetterman’s remarks came moments after Menendez defended himself at a closed-door lunch with his fellow Senate Democrats, then defiantly told reporters he would not resign and would "continue to cast votes on behalf of the people of New Jersey" despite mounting calls from his party to step down. Menendez pleaded not guilty Wednesday.
Fetterman did not attend Menendez's address to colleagues, and members of the Ethics Committee, which could open a probe, were asked to leave.
“Now that it’s confirmed that he’s not going to go the honorable way, you know, I would like to pursue whatever avenues that are available. ... Whatever way, you know, we can remove him, I hope that that’s pursued,” Fetterman said when he was asked about the possibility of expulsion.
A privileged expulsion resolution will be among the things his team will look at, Fetterman said. “Of course, we’re going to investigate whatever options are going forward. I would have hoped he would have just chose to do the right thing today.”
Pressed again about backing an expulsion resolution, Fetterman replied: “If that is an option, absolutely. ... I would pursue that and be a part of it."
Expelling a senator is extremely rare, and it is unlikely Fetterman would be able to secure the two-thirds majority of votes needed to force Menendez out of office. Unlike members of Menendez’s own party, Senate Republicans have not called on him to resign, saying he deserves to have his day in court.
Other Democrats had no comment about a possible expulsion measure or said they had not considered the matter.
“I haven’t heard any discussion about that,” said Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who served under Menendez on the Foreign Relations Committee before Menendez stepped down as chairman after his indictment.
“I haven’t even thought about that,” said Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., the head of the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm, who has called for Menendez’s resignation.
“I don’t even want to talk about it,” said Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., another Foreign Relations Committee member who has called for Menendez’s resignation.
Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri doubted Democrats would vote out one of their own, saying: “Dems wouldn’t vote to expel him. When was the last time a senator got expelled?”
Article 1, Section 5 of the Constitution states that each chamber of Congress can “punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member.” But it has rarely happened.
According to the Senate website, the Senate has expelled only 15 members since 1789, 14 of them during the Civil War for backing the Confederacy. The last of those 14 were removed from office in 1862, the most recent expulsions. In other cases, senators considered expulsion but dropped their efforts after targeted colleagues resigned, most recently Sen. Bob Packwood, R-Ore., in 1995.
Fetterman’s comments drew praise from at least one member of House Democratic leadership, Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota, who has called on Democrats to try to remove Menendez from office.
“I salute @SenFettermanPA for raising the possibility of expelling a fellow senator whose ethical failures are a stain on our Congress and country,” Phillips wrote on the social media site X, formerly Twitter. “If we Democrats wish to restore faith in government, we must walk the talk and hold our own to account.”
Menendez already faces a primary challenger, Rep. Andy Kim.
Fetterman says supports a Democrat’s challenging Menendez for his seat. "You have our colleagues in tough races right now in my state or Montana or Ohio, and the kind of baggage that he brings to this already makes it already difficult, and now it puts New Jersey in play.
"That’s — that's remarkable to even have this conversation," he added.
