Photo: Science Photo Library RF
1 Two More Senators Call On Bob Menendez To Resign, He Says He's Innocent
Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey said yesterday that he’ll be cleared of all charges in the federal indictment filed on Friday against him and his wife, and he will not resign. Authorities have charged him with taking cash and gold in exchange for helping business associates in Egypt and New Jersey, but Menendez told the press yesterday that the almost half a million dollars found in his home had been withdrawn “a few thousand dollars at a time” from his personal savings to have on hand in case of emergencies. While he may have no plans to resign, the calls for him to leave his seat in the Senate are growing. Sen. John Fetterman, Sen. Sherrod Brown, and Sen. Peter Welch have all called on Menendez to resign. Last night, Rep. Nancy Pelosi said, “It’d probably be a good idea if he did resign,” and called the charges “formidable.” The indictment said that some of the envelopes full of cash found in the senator’s home “contained the fingerprints and/or DNA” of one of the people charged with bribing Menendez. This is the second time Menendez has been charged with corruption. The first was in 2015, and he was acquitted in 2018.
2 House Republicans Voting On Four Funding Bills Today To Avoid Shutdown This Weekend
Republicans in the House of Representatives will take another swing at bringing funding bills up for debate today. The bills would fund the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, State, and Agriculture, but it’s not clear if they’ll even come up for debate. Two different attempts to bring the Department of Defense funding bill up for debate and a vote were blocked by five hard-right Republican representatives, and yesterday House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he would defer to the majority whip as to whether or not the votes will be there today to move the bills forward. The potential for a government shutdown this weekend when funding runs out might not be helped by the House Republicans passing their bills, as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has called the bills a “total non-starter” in the Senate. The deadline to pass funding legislation for the federal government is Saturday night, with a government shutdown starting October 1st if the deadline isn’t met.
3 Seven Candidates Qualify For Tomorrow Night’s Republican Debate
Seven of the eight candidates who participated in the first Republican Primary debate in August qualified to be on stage tomorrow night for the second. Of the original eight, only former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson failed to meet the qualification requirements to take part tomorrow night, which includes a threshold of a certain number of individual donors, signing a pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee no matter who it is, and at least a 3% mark in selected polls. It’s reported that the polling requirement is what kept Hutchinson from qualifying, and almost blocked North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who finally qualified yesterday. The seven candidates who will be on stage for tomorrow night’s debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California are:
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum
Former New Jersey Chris Christie
Florida Ron DeSantis
Former N. Ambassador Nikki Haley
Former Vice President Mike Pence
Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy
Tim Scott