Leah Mills/Reuters
More than half of the U.S. Senate’s Democratic members have now called for Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey to resign after being charged in a sprawling federal bribery case—including home-state colleague Sen. Cory Booker.
As of Tuesday morning, just three of Menendez’ colleagues within the chamber had spoken out in favor of his resignation—but by the end of the day, that number had ballooned to 26, including Booker, a longtime ally and friend.
“Stepping down is not an admission of guilt but an acknowledgment that holding public office often demands tremendous sacrifices at great personal cost, Booker said in a lengthy statement. “Senator Menendez has made these sacrifices in the past to serve. And in this case he must do so again.”