Ranking Member's Press
Fact Sheet: DOD Certified that Ukraine Met Corruption Benchmarks
TRUMP-UKRAINE SCANDAL Fact Sheet: DOD Certified that Ukraine Met Corruption Benchmarks The Claims: President Trump and senior administration officials have claimed that security assistance to Ukraine was held up because they were concerned the assistance would be diverted. For example: Trump said, "why would you give money to a country that you think is corrupt?" [Roll Call, 9/23/19]. Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said that "the corruption in the country" was one of three key reasons… Continue Reading
October 23, 2019
Menendez on Pres. Trump’s Lifting of Sanctions on Turkey
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement after President Donald Trump announced he would lift U.S. sanctions on Turkey: "As if clearing the way for a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Syrian Kurds wasn't enough, President Trump seems determined to keep handing political and military victories to Russia and Syria, kowtowing to Turkey, and opening the door for further Iranian expansion in the regi… Continue Reading
October 22, 2019
Menendez Opening Statement at Hearing on Crisis in Northern Syria
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, delivered the following opening remarks at a hearing titled: "Assessing the Impact of Turkey's Offensive in Northeast Syria." Testifying before the committee were Ambassador James F. Jeffrey, Special Representative for Syria Engagement and Special Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, and Matthew A. Palmer, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affair… Continue Reading
October 20, 2019
***ICYMI*** On ABC’s This Week, Menendez Reacts to Sec. Pompeo Interview, Discusses Crisis in Syria and Trump-Ukraine Scandal
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, appeared today on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos to discuss pressing international affairs issues including the ongoing crisis in northern Syria and the latest on the Trump-Ukraine scandal. Ranking Member Menendez also provided his immediate reaction to an interview with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in which the Secretary defended the Trump administration's 120-hour "ceasefire" f… Continue Reading
October 17, 2019
Menendez Warns Trump Against Using his Golf Resort to Host G7 Summit
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today sent a letter to President Trump stating his opposition to the decision announced by White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney to host next year's G7 summit at one of Trump's own properties, potentially allowing his companies to profit from an official United States government event. "At a time when the U.S. role as a global leader is hanging by a thread-marred by your actions with regard … Continue Reading
October 17, 2019
Foreign Relations Committee Leaders Announce New Comprehensive Syria-Turkey Legislation
WASHINGTON - Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), chairman and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today announced they are partnering to introduce new comprehensive legislation in response to Turkey's military incursion into northern Syria and attack on America's partners in northeast Syria, including the Kurds. The bipartisan legislation, which will be introduced soon, will require the administration to produce a strategy to defend our hard-won gains a… Continue Reading
October 16, 2019
Menendez Questions State Dept. Official about Trump, Giuliani Effort to Free Iran Sanctions Violator
WASHINGTON - At a Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing examining the Trump Administration's Iran policy, Ranking Member Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) confronted U.S. Special Representative for Iran and Senior Policy Advisor to the Secretary of State, Brian Hook, about President Trump's reported efforts to help Rudy Giuliani secure the release of an Iranian-Turkish gold trader, his role in these efforts, and the implications for the integrity of U.S. sanctions. CLICK HERE TO WATCH In 2017… Continue Reading
October 16, 2019
Menendez Demands Details of Trump- Erdogan Call that led to U.S. Troop Withdrawal
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today requested that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo provide details regarding President Trump's recent phone call with Turkish President Erdogan on October 6th, which led to the President's agreement to withdraw U.S. troops from northeastern Syria. Allowing for a Turkish military incursion in the area, President Trump's decision set off a cascade of destabilizing and chaotic events, weakening ou… Continue Reading
October 16, 2019
Menendez Opening Remarks at Hearing Examining US-Iran Policy
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, delivered the following opening remarks at a committee hearing this morning titled, "An Examination of US-Iran Policy." Menendez used his remarks to elevate a request from all committee Democrats for Chairman Risch to allow the Committee to convene hearings on the Trump-Ukraine scandal, and also to highlight President Trump's reported directive for the State Department to coordinate with Rudy G… Continue Reading
October 15, 2019
Menendez, Young, Engel, McCaul Introduce Joint Measure Opposing Decision on Northern Syria
WASHINGTON- Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.), Representative Eliot L. Engel (D-N.Y.), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Representative Michael T. McCaul (R-Texas), the Committee's Ranking Member, today introduced a bicameral, bipartisan measure opposing the decision to allow the Turkish military to attack America's Syrian Kurdish partners. The resolution calls on the White House to put forward… Continue Reading
October 13, 2019
Menendez Statement on Pres. Trump’s Reckless Withdrawal of U.S. Forces from Northern Syria
ELIZABETH, N.J. - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement after Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper announced on Sunday that President Donald Trump had ordered the full withdrawal of U.S. forces from northern Syria: "With this withdrawal, President Trump is further weakening the United States' position on the global stage, actively weakening our national security and further undermining our credibility with partners and… Continue Reading
October 11, 2019
As State Dept. Morale Plummets, Menendez Demands Accountability from Pompeo on Employee Retaliation
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today called on Secretary Pompeo to seek the resignation of Assistant Secretary Kevin Moley, head of the Bureau of International Organization Affairs (IO), for his targeting of career public servants at the State Department based on their perceived lack of loyalty to President Trump. In August, the State Department Inspector General (OIG) released a scathing report outlining Moley and other poli… Continue Reading
October 10, 2019
Ten Senators Call on Pompeo to Explain Dismissal of U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine and Stand Up for Whistleblowers
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today led a group of ten of his Senate Democratic colleagues in seeking answers from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about the Trump Administration's politically-motivated removal of former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie "Masha" Yovanovitch. In light of Ambassador Yovanovitch's scheduled deposition to Congress, the Senators' letter calls on Secretary Pompeo not to impede her testimony in the H… Continue Reading
October 09, 2019
SFRC Dems Call on Chairman Risch to Convene Committee Hearings on Trump-Ukraine Scandal
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC), today was joined by all Democratic members of the Committee in sending a letter to Committee Chairman Jim Risch (R-Idaho) to request he immediately convene hearings on the Trump-Ukraine scandal. As the Senate committee of jurisdiction responsible for conducting oversight of the conduct of U.S. diplomacy and foreign policy, the Foreign Relations Committee Democrats requested prompt hearing… Continue Reading
October 08, 2019
Top National Security Democrats Warn Trump Admin Against U.S. Withdrawal from Key Euro-Atlantic Security Treaty
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Representative Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Representative Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Chairman of the House Armed Service Committee, today sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper strongly opposing withdrawal from the Open Skies Tr… Continue Reading
October 08, 2019
Sens Menendez and Rubio Request Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States Review Transactions of Brazilian Meat-Processing Conglomerate
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, today sent a letter to Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin requesting that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) formally open a review of the transactions of Brazilian meat-processing conglomerate, JBS S.A. Over the last twelve years, JBS S.A. has become… Continue Reading
October 08, 2019
Menendez Statement on Trump Admin Blocking State Department Officials from Speaking with Congress
MUMBAI, INDIA - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement after the Trump Administration blocked the deposition of Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, as part of the ongoing impeachment inquiry on the Trump-Ukraine scandal: "It is an affront to our constitution to claim Congress does not deserve an opportunity to question Ambassador Sondland and other State Department officials who have informa… Continue Reading
October 07, 2019
Menendez Responds to Trump Abandonment of Kurdish Forces in Turkey-Syria Border
MUMBAI, INDIA - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement in reaction to the announcement by the White House that the Trump Administration will withdraw United States forces from northern Syria and drop its support for American-backed Kurdish forces. "Once again, the Trump Administration has upended longstanding policy with an impulsive, politically-driven decision that will sacrifice long-term U.S. national secu… Continue Reading
October 03, 2019
Menendez Requests State Department IG Open Formal Investigation into Trump-Ukraine Scandal
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today requested the State Department Inspector General open a formal inquiry into the Department's withholding of security assistance to Ukraine. In a letter addressed to Inspector General Steve Linick, Ranking Member Menendez also requested the investigation include the specific role of senior State Department officials, including that of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his Counselor Ulrich … Continue Reading
October 03, 2019
Menendez Statement on Growing Unrest in Iraq amid Internet Blackout
New Delhi, India - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement on the developing situation in Iraq, where growing unrest has reportedly led to a death toll of over 18 after Iraqi authorities imposed a curfew and blocked off access to the internet. "The people of Iraq have a fundamental right to protest peacefully, and advocate for legitimate and long-standing grievances. I urge all Iraqis, including those in the g… Continue Reading
