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Sen. Robert “Bob” Menendez

Senator for New Jersey

pronounced RAH-bert // muh-NEN-dez

Menendez is the senior senator from New Jersey and is a Democrat. He has served since Jan 18, 2006. Menendez is next up for reelection in 2024 and serves until Jan 3, 2025. He is 70 years old.

He was previously the representative for New Jersey’s 13th congressional district as a Democrat from 1993 to 2006.

Photo of Sen. Robert “Bob” Menendez [D-NJ]

Misconduct/alleged misconduct

Menendez is under investigation for conspiracy to commit bribery, honest services fraud and extortion under the color of official right by the Department of Justice (DOJ). On Oct. 12, 2023, the DOJ issued a superseding indictment adding the charge of acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign power.

Oct. 26, 2022 Department of Justice initiated an investigation
Sep. 22, 2023 Department of Justice indicted Menendez
Oct. 12, 2023 Department of Justice issued a superseding indictment

Menendez was investigated for unspecified misconduct in 2012. The Senate investigation was halted during his investigation and trial for corruption and bribery which resulted in a mistrial. In April 2018, the Senate Select Committee on Ethics admonished Senator Menendez for violating Senate rules and ordered him to repay any remaining outstanding value of impermissable gifts.

Nov. 16, 2017 Senate Select Committee on Ethics reopened its investigation after Menendez's corruption and bribery case ended in a mistrial
Apr. 26, 2018 Senate Select Committee on Ethics admonished Senator Menendez for violating Senate rules and ordered him to repay any remaining outstanding value of impermissable gifts

Analysis

Legislative Metrics

Read our 2022 Report Card for Menendez.

Ideology–Leadership Chart

Menendez is shown as a purple triangle in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot is a member of the Senate positioned according to our ideology score (left to right) and our leadership score (leaders are toward the top).

The chart is based on the bills Menendez has sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 3, 2019 to Mar 23, 2024. See full analysis methodology.

Committee Membership

Robert “Bob” Menendez sits on the following committees:

Enacted Legislation

Menendez was the primary sponsor of 40 bills that were enacted. The most recent include:

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Does 40 not sound like a lot? Very few bills are ever enacted — most legislators sponsor only a handful that are signed into law. But there are other legislative activities that we don’t track that are also important, including offering amendments, committee work and oversight of the other branches, and constituent services.

We consider a bill enacted if one of the following is true: a) it is enacted itself, b) it has a companion bill in the other chamber (as identified by Congress) which was enacted, or c) if at least about half of its provisions were incorporated into bills that were enacted (as determined by an automated text analysis, applicable beginning with bills in the 110th Congress).

Bills Sponsored

Issue Areas

Menendez sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:

International Affairs (60%) Health (14%)

Recently Introduced Bills

Menendez recently introduced the following legislation:

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Most legislation has no activity after being introduced.

Voting Record

Key Votes

Menendez voted Nay

Menendez voted Yea

Menendez voted Nay

Bill Passed 72/26 on Sep 28, 2016.

The Continuing Appropriations and Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017, and Zika Response and Preparedness Act (H.R. 5325) is an appropriations …

Menendez voted Yea

Joint Resolution Passed 78/22 on Sep 18, 2014.

Menendez voted Nay

Menendez voted Yea

Motion Agreed to 81/19 on Dec 15, 2010.

The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (Pub.L. 111–312, H.R. 4853, 124 Stat. 3296, enacted December 17, 2010), also known …

Missed Votes

From Jan 2006 to Mar 2024, Menendez missed 190 of 5,999 roll call votes, which is 3.2%. This is on par with the median of 2.9% among the lifetime records of senators currently serving. The chart below reports missed votes over time.

We don’t track why legislators miss votes, but it’s often due to medical absenses, major life events, and running for higher office.

Show the numbers...

Primary Sources

The information on this page is originally sourced from a variety of materials, including: