(NewsNation) — Democratic New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez is set to address his party’s caucus on Thursday amid calls for his resignation after he was indicted on bribery and corruption charges.
Menendez pleaded not guilty to the charges, but an increasing number of his fellow Democrats, at least 30, have called on him to resign. Those include fellow senators who consider him a friend, such as fellow New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker.
Three of those not calling for Menendez to resign sit on the Senate Ethics Committee. Because of their assignments, they do not comment on issues that may come before the committee.
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is one of the Democrats who has not demanded Menendez’s resignation, though he did say he was disappointed in his fellow senator. He has moved to remove Menendez from his role as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, nominating Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland to take over the position.
There has been no information on what Menendez plans to say to the caucus, and he did not speak to reporters as he made his way to his office Thursday. He has previously said he would not be resigning his seat.
Some of his colleagues, however, appear to have already made up their minds.
“Unless Senator Menendez is coming today to resign, I am not interested in hearing his ‘explanation’ for gold bars stashed in a mattress. We’re past the point of his tough talk and defiance, given the scope and scale of his alleged corruption,” Sen. John Fetterman tweeted.
Menendez, the longtime chairman and top Democrat on the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and his wife, Nadine, are accused in an indictment released Friday of using his position to aid the authoritarian government of Egypt and to pressure federal prosecutors to drop a case against a friend, among other allegations of corruption. The three-count indictment says they were paid bribes — gold bars, a luxury car and cash — by three New Jersey businessmen in exchange for the corrupt acts.
Menendez has said the cash found in his home was from his personal savings, kept on hand for emergencies. In defense of the large amount, he pointed to the experience of his parents, who faced confiscation of their property before fleeing Cuba when dictator Fulgencio Batista was in charge of the country.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
