Chairman's Press
Menendez Demands Answers on Trump’s Alleged “Go Ahead” for Xinjiang Concentration Camps
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is calling for the Trump Administration to immediately confirm or clarify former National Security Advisor John Bolton's claims that President Trump explicitly endorsed the Chinese governments' repressive system of surveillance and mass internment against millions of Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of other Muslim minority groups. The fact that the former National Security Adviso… Continue Reading
June 23, 2020
Menendez Requests Inspector General Probe into Michael Pack’s “Wednesday Night Massacre”
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today requested the State Department's Acting Inspector General Stephen Akard open a review to determine whether Michael Pack, the newly-installed CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), violated a federal regulation when he fired the heads of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, and dissolved the b… Continue Reading
June 23, 2020
Menendez: Bolton Book Raises New Questions about Pompeo’s Role in President’s Subversion of U.S. Foreign Policy
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today is calling for a full accounting of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's role in President Trump's repeated efforts to manipulate our nation's foreign policy to further his own interests above that of our national security. The Senator's letter follows former national security adviser John Bolton's explosive claims accusing Trump of multiple "Ukraine-like transgressions" across his entire… Continue Reading
June 23, 2020
Menendez Statement on U.S.-Poland Relationship
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement on the U.S.-Poland relationship ahead of President Andrzej Duda's visit to the White House this week: "While I am a strong supporter of the U.S.-Poland relationship, President Andrzej Duda's visit to the White House days before Poland's presidential election is inappropriate. The U.S.-Poland relationship rests on shared values, mutual membership in democrat… Continue Reading
June 22, 2020
Leading Senate Democrats Question Legality of Trump Administration’s Withdrawal from Open Skies Treaty
WASHINGTON - Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) was joined by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Mark Warner (D-Va.) in sending a strong rebuke to the Trump Administration for the President's decision to unilaterally withdraw the United States from the Open Skies Treaty. The Senators questioned the legitim… Continue Reading
June 19, 2020
Menendez, Risch, Colleagues Introduce Bipartisan Resolution Reaffirming U.S.-Ecuador Partnership
WASHINGTON - Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Ranking Member and Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, were joined by Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), and Ted Cruz (R-Tx), in introducing a Senate Resolution reaffirming the partnership between the United States and the Republic of Ecuador. The bipartisan resolution recognizes the restoration and advancement of economic relations, security, and development opportunities in b… Continue Reading
June 19, 2020
Senators Menendez, Schumer, Cardin Issue Statement to Express Opposition to the Proposed Unilateral Annexation of Territory in the West Bank
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Ranking Member Ben Cardin (D-Md.) today issued the following statement to express opposition to the proposed unilateral annexation of territory in the West Bank: "As strong and dedicated supporters of the U.S.-Israel relationship, we are compelled to express opposition to the proposed … Continue Reading
June 18, 2020
Menendez Opening Remarks at Committee Hearing on COVID-19 and U.S. International Pandemic Preparedness, Prevention, and Response
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, delivered the opening remarks at today's committee hearing on COVID-19 and International Pandemic Preparedness, Prevention, and Response. "The American people deserve to hear from members of the President's hand-picked team to understand what it is doing to address the worst pandemic the world has faced in 100 years - more than 8 million cases worldwide, and more than 115,000 Ameri… Continue Reading
June 18, 2020
Menendez Publishes SFRC Democratic Staff Report on Current Global Forced Migration Crisis
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today unveiled a new report by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Democratic staff on the global forced migration crisis. Published in advance of World Refugee Day on June 20, the report represents the culmination of an exhaustive SFRC investigation commissioned by Ranking Member Menendez into the latest challenges global forced migration presents to local communities, national governments, … Continue Reading
June 18, 2020
Menendez & Engel Introduce Legislation to Prohibit Funding for Trump’s Reckless Troop Withdrawal from Germany
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Representative Eliot L. Engel, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today announced the Maintaining United States National Security Interests in Europe Act, bicameral legislation to restrict funding for the implementation of President Trump's reckless plans to withdraw some U.S. forces from Germany. "The current U.S. troop presence in Germany is in the U.S. national security interest. … Continue Reading
June 17, 2020
Menendez Statement on Michael Pack’s Hollowing Out of USAGM
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement after Michael Pack, President Trump's pick to head the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), abruptly fired all of the network heads and their corporate boards on his first week at the Agency: "As feared, Michael Pack has confirmed he is on a political mission to destroy the USAGM's independence and undermine its historic role. The wholesale firing of the A… Continue Reading
June 17, 2020
Following Bolton Bombshell, Menendez Demands Answers on Trump’s Business Dealings with Chinese Government
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is calling for a full accounting of President Donald Trump's ongoing business relationship with a Chinese state-controlled bank. Following former National Security Adviser John Bolton's revelation that President Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to buy U.S. agricultural products to help him win the 2020 election, Senator Menendez raised new questions about how much the President may be p… Continue Reading
June 17, 2020
Bipartisan Group of Senators Introduce Keeping Women and Girls Safe from the Start Authorization Act of 2020
WASHINGTON - Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) were joined today by four of their Senate colleagues in introducing the Keeping Women and Girls Safe from the Start Authorization Act of 2020. Against the backdrop of the largest refugee crisis in recorded history, the new bipartisan legislation seeks to bolster current United States' and in… Continue Reading
June 16, 2020
Senate Approves Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senators Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chris Coons (D-De.), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) today released the following statements after the Senate unanimously approved S.712, the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act. Named in honor of former FBI agent Robert Levinson, whose unlawful detention by the Iranian regime is recognized as the longes… Continue Reading
June 15, 2020
Menendez, Reed Demand Answers on Status of Security Assistance Funding to Afghanistan
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Ranking Member of the Armed Services Committee, today sent a letter today to Secretary of Defense Mark Esper demanding answers regarding the current status of U.S. security assistance to the government of Afghanistan. Calling for transparency with Congress and Afghan government officials alike, the letter follows conflicting information from Trump Administrati… Continue Reading
June 15, 2020
Menendez Statement on Russian Court’s Sentencing of U.S. Citizen Paul Whelan
NEWARK - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement in reaction to Moscow's sham trial against former U.S. marine Paul Whelan after he was convicted of espionage and sentenced to 16 years in prison on Monday: "Today's sentencing of wrongfully detained American Paul Whelan is a disgrace. My thoughts are with Mr. Whelan and his loved ones who for the past year and a half have seen him languish in a Russian prison … Continue Reading
June 12, 2020
Senate Unanimously Approves Menendez-Rubio Resolution Calling for the Release of Cuban Activist José Daniel Ferrer
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senators Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Ted Cruz (R-Tx.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), and Susan Collins (R-Maine) today released the following statements after the Senate unanimously approved their resolution calling for the immediate release of Cuban democracy activist José Daniel Ferrer. Mr. Ferrer was imprisoned on October 1, 2019 and arbitrarily convicted on April 3, 2020 to … Continue Reading
June 10, 2020
Menendez, Engel, Maloney, Connolly, and Castro Release Transcript of Interview with Inspector General Linick
WASHINGTON-Today, Senator Bob Menendez, Ranking Member of the Senatr Committee on Foreign Relations, Representative Eliot L. Engel, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Representative Carolyn B. Maloney, Chairwoman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, Representative Gerald E. Connolly, Chairman of the Oversight Subcommittee on Government Operations, and Representative Joaquin Castro, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations release… Continue Reading
June 10, 2020
EVENT: Global Forced Migration - The Political Crisis of Our Time
On behalf of Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC), we would like to invite you to a Congressional briefing on Thursday, June 18, 2020 to discuss a new report being published by the SFRC Democratic Staff. The report, titled "Global Forced Migration: The Political Crisis of Our Time," is the culmination of a comprehensive SFRC investigation commissioned by Ranking Member Menendez into the global forced migration crisis. Joining Menendez fo… Continue Reading
June 08, 2020
Leading Senators Blast USAID Head for Attacking Sexual and Reproductive Health Provisions in UN’s COVID-19 Response Plan
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was joined by a group of leading Democratic Senators in condemning the Trump Administration's demand for the United Nations to remove all references to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) from the Global Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for COVID-19. Citing their concerns with a May 18, 2020 letter from United States Agency for International Development Acting Administrator John Barsa to U.N… Continue Reading
