The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Expelling Bob Menendez from the Senate
If Sen. Menendez does not resign of his own volition, the Senate may look to expel him. However, the process is not necessarily quick or easy.
After a jury found Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., guilty on 16 counts during a nine-week corruption trial, lawmakers in the Senate and from his state of New Jersey have urged him to resign.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., was one of the first to respond to the verdict on Tuesday, requesting his fellow Democrat to resign.
"In light of this guilty verdict, Senator Menendez must now do what is right for his constituents, the Senate, and our country, and resign," he said in a statement.
A smaller group noted that expulsion may be necessary should Menendez refuse to comply with the request of his colleagues.
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In his own call for the senator's resignation, Gov. Phil Murphy, D-N.J., said the Senate should "vote to expel him" if he doesn't step down.
The Senate has only expelled 15 of its members in U.S. history. In fact, the last was Sen. Jesse Bright, D-Ind., in 1862.
This is why a number of lawmakers are calling on Menendez to resign rather than be expelled.
The reason? It ain’t easy.
Here’s the process.
A senator could draw up a resolution to expel Menendez. The Constitution requires a two-thirds vote to expel. But it does not hit the floor right away.
Even if someone brought up a resolution, it could be referred immediately to the Ethics Committee. That could bottle things up for a while as the Ethics panel investigates.
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However, Menendez has already been convicted. So, the Ethics Committee could just send out its "report" on the conduct of Menendez quickly and send the measure to the floor.
If the resolution to expel gets locked up in committee, senators could try to pry it loose via a "motion to discharge." That is more complicated. But it may work in this instance.
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Regardless, the Senate must vote to "proceed" to the expulsion resolution. That requires a simple majority. There is no filibuster/cloture on the front end.
The Senate can then debate the expulsion question for as long as necessary.
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However, if requested, the Senate may need to stave off a filibuster. So, the Senate may need to file "cloture" to overcome the filibuster on the expulsion of Menendez. That takes 60 yea votes.
If the Senate breaks the filibuster, it can then vote on the expulsion resolution itself. That requires a two-thirds vote.
It’s notable that the late Sen. Harrison Williams, D-N.J., and former Sen. Bob Packwood, R-Ore., faced potential expulsion votes. But both resigned before the Senate could cobble together the votes to kick them out.
It’s also possible that someone could just prep a resolution to expel – and conceivably try to bypass the Ethics Committee and put the issue on the floor right away. But that would require the blessing of all 100 senators. Menendez is still a senator. So, it’s likely he and others might object or try to block it.