Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who has become an outspoken critic of Sen. Bob Menendez (D.N.J.) in recent months, issued a challenge to his colleague Friday.
“I dare Mr. Menedez to run for re-election,” he said. Said After endorsing his 2024 primary challenger for the New Jersey Senate, Rep. Andy Kim (D.N.J.), earlier this week, he spoke with CNN's Jake Tapper on Friday.
Mr. Fetterman was forced to resign or lose his seat after Mr. Menendez and his wife were indicted on bribery charges for allegedly accepting $600,000 in bribes from three businessmen in exchange for favors and pretending to be foreign nationals. He was the first Democratic senator to call for his removal from office. Agent representing Egypt.
Embattled Democratic lawmakers also received a second blow. Second alternative indictment Earlier this month, the suspect claimed to have received gifts from the Qatari government and helped a real estate developer obtain millions of dollars in investment funds from the Gulf state. Mr. Menendez denies the charges.
Upon receiving the news, Kim jumped into the race. Mr. Fetterman said he was “enthusiastic” about the congressman's record, adding: “He would outperform Mr. Menendez in anything.”
“One of the most important things is that we have reliable Democratic votes,” Fetterman said in an interview with The New York Times on Thursday. “We need to run this table in ’24 to maintain the majority. But we have to count on every Democratic vote. Andy Kim is the kind of guy we can trust.” is.”
Tupperware on Friday too asked Fetterman. They reported plans to force a vote on a resolution that would prevent senators indicted on national security charges from participating in secret meetings.
“Such vulgar language should have been abandoned a long time ago,'' said senator. Said, according to a post on X (formerly Twitter) by CNN's Manu Raju. “But now we are considering moving my resolution to the floor and will seek unanimous consent to prevent senators accused of being foreign agents from attending classified sessions. is.”
Mr. Fetterman did not answer directly to Mr. Tapper whether he would proceed with the plan, but said he did not think Mr. Menendez should be allowed to attend the meeting.
“[H]”He absolutely has no right to participate in a secret meeting when it involves countries where he is credibly accused of being a foreign agent, which is outrageous,” he said.
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