Menendez, Robert (1954-…), a Democrat, became a United States senator representing New Jersey in 2006. Prior to becoming a senator, Menendez was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Menendez was born on Jan. 1, 1954, in New York City. His parents were immigrants from Cuba. He received a bachelor’s degree from St. Peter’s College in 1976 and a law degree from the Rutgers School of Law in 1979. Menendez was only 20 years old when he was elected to the school board of Union City, New Jersey, in 1974. He served as Union City’s mayor from 1986 to 1992. While still mayor, he was elected a New Jersey state assemblyman in 1987 and was appointed a state senator in 1991.
In 1992, Menendez won election to his first term in the U.S. House of Representatives. He took office in 1993. He won reelection to the House every two years from 1994 to 2004. New Jersey Governor-elect Jon S. Corzine selected him to serve out the remainder of Corzine’s Senate term after Corzine was elected governor in November 2005. Menendez was elected to a full term in the Senate in November 2006. He was reelected in 2012. As a senator, Menendez gained notice for his work on the powerful Foreign Relations Committee.
In 2015, federal prosecutors indicted Menendez on bribery charges. Prosecutors charged him with trading political favors for gifts and campaign donations. The senator denied the allegations and said that he would fight the charges. A trial began in September 2017. In November, the judge presiding over the case declared a mistrial because the jurors could not reach a unanimous decision. In January 2018, prosecutors announced they were dropping the charges against Menendez. In November 2018, Menendez was reelected to a third six-year term in the Senate.
In 2023, federal prosecutors again indicted Menendez on bribery charges. Prosecutors charged Menendez with receiving bribes in exchange for political favors and secretly aiding the government of Egypt. The charges alleged that Menendez’s wife, Nadine, also participated in the scheme. Prosecutors later accused the senator of also receiving bribes as part of a scheme involving Qatar, another Middle Eastern country. In March 2024, federal prosecutors added additional charges against Menendez and his wife. The new charges included obstruction of justice, for causing their lawyers to make false statements to prosecutors. Menendez and his wife said they were innocent of all the charges brought against them. In July, a jury convicted Robert Menendez of all the charges against him. A trial for Nadine Menendez was postponed while she underwent treatment for cancer.
