Menendez faces potential 222-year sentence, calls to resign following guilty verdict

Last week, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) was convicted on 16 charges spanning from serving as a foreign agent to conspiring to defraud, extort, bribe and obstruct justice, bringing his two-month trial to a close.

The Rutgers Law School alum and his two co-defendants will receive their sentences at the end of October to allow for requisite probes and petitions regarding the nature of the upcoming sentence, according to an article from POLITICO.

The decision, which is expected to come on the heels of the 2024 general election, will not affect Menendez's eligibility to run for or hold office.

But incarceration would inhibit his ability to vote in New Jersey, where felons cannot vote while serving their sentences: For Menendez, that could last up to 222 years.

As of now, Menendez has made no indication that he will terminate his congressional campaign despite calls from state and federal leaders to resign from his current seat. Last month, he changed his party affiliation from Democrat to independent for his prospective term.

Officials who have publicly encouraged his resignation include Gov. Phil Murphy (D-N.J.), who would be responsible for appointing Menendez's replacement, fellow Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.), who is currently running to unseat Menendez in November.

"I called on Senator Menendez to step down when these charges were first made public, and now that he has been found guilty, I believe the only course of action for him is to resign his seat immediately," Kim wrote on social media platform X following the verdict. "The people of New Jersey deserve better."