Ranking Member's Press
Menendez, Engel Statement on Anniversary of New START Treaty
Washington-Senator Bob Menendez, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and Representative Eliot L. Engel, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today made the following statement on the ninth anniversary of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) entering into force: "For nearly a decade, this treaty has constrained Russia's nuclear forces, provided strong and detailed verification measures to ensure Russia adheres to its commitments, and allowed… Continue Reading
February 05, 2020
Menendez Reacts to Investigation Showing Hundreds of El Salvadorans Were Killed or Abused After Being Deported from U.S.
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement in response to the publication of a Human Rights Watch (HRW) investigation that identifies over 200 cases in which people were murdered or subjected to sexual violence, torture, and other harm after being deported to El Salvador from the United States. "This report is a shameful reminder of the Trump Administration's xenophobic policy of denying meaningful prot… Continue Reading
February 05, 2020
Menendez Reacts to Investigation Showing Hundreds of El Salvadorans Were Killed or Abused After Being Deported from U.S.
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement in response to the publication of a Human Rights Watch (HRW) investigation that identifies over 200 cases in which people were murdered or subjected to sexual violence, torture, and other harm after being deported to El Salvador from the United States. "This report is a shameful reminder of the Trump Administration's xenophobic policy of denying meaningful prote… Continue Reading
February 04, 2020
***VIDEO*** Menendez: “The day we fail to remove this President will go down in history as a day of constitutional infamy”
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, delivered an impassioned speech on the Senate Floor today, in which he stressed Congress' role as a co-equal branch of government and upholding the Constitutional system of checks and balances in announcing that he will vote to remove President Donald J. Trump. CLICK TO WATCH "We need our Republican colleagues to be intellectually honest. We need them to speak the truth and say it's i… Continue Reading
February 04, 2020
Menendez, Risch, Gardner Meet with Taiwanese Vice President-elect William Lai
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member amd chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, along with Senator Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), chairman of the Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy, today met with Vice President-elect William Lai of Taiwan. "It was a pleasure to welcome Vice President-elect Lai to the Senate," said Menendez. "As I told the Vice President-elect during our conversation, I'm loo… Continue Reading
February 04, 2020
Congressional Leaders Demand Watchdog Investigate Trump Administration Decision to Terminate TPS
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, today led a group of leading Democrats in calling on the State Department's Inspector General to immediately open an investigation into the Trump Administration's decision to terminate the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations … Continue Reading
January 31, 2020
Menendez Statement on Trump Admin's Roll Back of Restrictions of U.S. Use and Production of Antipersonnel Landmines
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement after the State Department formally informed Congress of President Trump's decision to roll back restrictions on the U.S. government's use and production of antipersonnel landmines (APL): "By enabling and encouraging the scourge of anti-personnel landmines around the world, President Trump has found yet another disturbing way to undo the progress made to res… Continue Reading
January 30, 2020
***VIDEO RELEASE*** Menendez Asks Impeachment Managers Whether Trump Repeatedly Placed his Personal and Political Interests Above our National Security Interests
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today asked the following question during today's question and answer phase of the impeachment trial. He was joined by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.): "The President's Counsel has argued that the President's actions are based on his desire to root out corruption. However, new reporting indicates that Attorney General Barr and former National Security Advisor Bolton shared concerns that the Presi… Continue Reading
January 30, 2020
***VIDEO RELEASE*** Menendez Asks Impeachment Managers to Explain Why Withholding Ukrainian Security Assistance Deviates from Established U.S. Foreign Policy
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today asked the following question during today's question and answer phase of the impeachment trial. He was joined by Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Jeanne Shaheen ((D-N.H.): "The President's aides and defenders have claimed that it is 'normal' or 'usual'… Continue Reading
January 30, 2020
***VIDEO RELEASE*** Menendez Asks Impeachment Managers Why a President Soliciting Foreign Interference in Our Elections Matters
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today asked the following question during today's question and answer phase of the impeachment trial: "The President was seeking investigations from a foreign power based partly on what Fiona Hill called 'a fictional narrative perpetrated and propagated by the Russian security services.' We know that the Russian government is already preparing to attack our election in 2020, and the Pres… Continue Reading
January 30, 2020
As Impeachment Focuses on Yovanovitch’s Ouster, 22 Democrats Demand Pompeo Explain Steps to Protect U.S. Diplomats
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, led 21 of his Senate colleagues in sending a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo demanding a full accounting of the steps the State Department is taking to investigate the alleged surveillance of U.S. Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch. The senators also voiced concern for Pompeo's refusal to express any support for Ambassador Yovanovitch or other State Department employees, who were criticized f… Continue Reading
January 29, 2020
Menendez Calls for Focus on Facts During Question Phase of Trump’s Impeachment Trial
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today hosted a press conference in the U.S. Capitol to discuss the latest on the ongoing impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. Flanked by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Menendez outlined what he expects to learn as the trial enters the question-and-answer phase this afternoon. "When we start questionin… Continue Reading
January 29, 2020
***VIDEO RELEASE*** Menendez Asks Impeachment Managers to Explain Trump’s Sudden Concern with Corruption in Ukraine
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, asked the following question during today’s question and answer phase of the impeachment trial: “President Trump has maintained that he withheld U.S. security assistance to Ukraine because he was concerned about corruption. Yet, his purported concern about corruption did not prevent his Administration from sending congressionally-appropriated assistance to Ukraine more than 45 times betw… Continue Reading
January 29, 2020
***VIDEO RELEASE*** Menendez Asks Impeachment Managers How We Hold Future Presidents Accountable if Trump Can Claim Absolute Privilege
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today asked the following question during today's question and answer phase of the impeachment trial. He was joined by Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii): "If the Senate accepts the President's blanket assertion of privilege in the House impeachment inquiry, what are the consequences to the American people? How will the Senate ensure that the current presid… Continue Reading
January 28, 2020
Menendez Demands Pompeo Reinstate NPR’s Participation in His Upcoming Trip
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement in reaction to the news that the State Department would deny a National Public Radio correspondent a seat aboard Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's plane for his forthcoming trip to Europe and Central Asia. The decision is the latest escalation from the Trump Administration after an NPR report from Mary Louise Kelly revealed Pompeo shouted and swore at her for askin… Continue Reading
January 28, 2020
Senators Menendez, Reed Raise Heightened Diplomatic and Military Risk Posed by Trump Admin’s Failure to Finalize Defense Cost-Sharing Deal with South Korea
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, raised their concerns with the Trump Administration's failure to reach a deal determining South Korea's new financial contributions to help pay for the current level of American military troops stationed in the Korean peninsula. In a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, t… Continue Reading
January 27, 2020
Menendez Seeks Additional Info from State Department about Saudi Hack of Jeff Bezos’ Phone
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last week seeking answers about allegations that the government of Saudi Arabia hacked and attempted to extort Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon and owner of The Washington Post. Senator Menendez, who has previously warned about Saudi Arabia's use of technology to target perceived opponents of Crown Prince Mohamad bin Salman, asked the State Department… Continue Reading
January 27, 2020
Menendez & Engel Statement on a Two-State Solution
Washington- Senator Bob Menendez, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and Representative Eliot L. Engel, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs today made the following statement: "As longtime supporters of a strong U.S.-Israel relationship and the two-state solution, we welcome any effort that will help advance those goals. "Israel and the United States share important values, including support for democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. These value… Continue Reading
January 25, 2020
Senators to Sec. Pompeo: Your Insults and Attacks on NPR Journalist are Beneath the Office of the Secretary of State
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was joined by Senators Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) in sending a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressing serious concerns about an official State Department statement issued earlier today attacking NPR's All Things Considered co-host Mary Louise Kelly. The Secretary's statement follows an NPR report from Kelly which reve… Continue Reading
January 24, 2020
Leading Senate Dems Demand Delay of Trump Admin Limits on Travel of Pregnant Women
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was joined tonight by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) in sending a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo demanding the Trump … Continue Reading
