Menendez, Robert, 1954-

<p>Robert Menendez (/mɛˈnɛndɛz/; born January 1, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States Senator from New Jersey, a seat he has held since 2006. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first appointed to the U.S. Senate by Governor Jon Corzine, and chaired the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations from 2013 to 2015, and again since 2021.</p>

<p>In 1974, at the age of 20, Menendez was elected to the Union City School District's Board of Education. He received degrees from Saint Peter's University and Rutgers Law School. In 1986, he was elected mayor of Union City. In 1988, while continuing to serve as mayor, he was elected to represent the state's 33rd district in the General Assembly of New Jersey and, within three years, moved to the New Jersey State Senate, upon winning the March 1991 special election for the 33rd Senate district. The next year, Menendez won a seat in the House of Representatives and represented New Jersey's 13th congressional district for six two-year terms, from 1993 to 2006. In January 2006, he was appointed to fill the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Jon Corzine (who had been elected governor of New Jersey), and was elected to a full six-year term in November; he was reelected in 2012 and 2018.</p>

<p>In 2015, Menendez was indicted on federal corruption charges, which were dropped in 2018. The United States Senate Select Committee on Ethics "severely admonished" him.</p>

<p>Senator Bob Menendez’s story is a quintessential American story. He grew up the son of Cuban immigrants in a tenement building in Union City and has risen to become one of 100 United States Senators. He currently serves as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for the 117th Congress. The Committee is one of the oldest and most revered Committees in the Senate, at a time when world affairs have a dramatic impact on our economy at home. He has earned a national reputation for his international leadership in the Senate, which pairs with his long-time reputation as a fighter for New Jersey families who puts their economic security ahead of powerful special interests.</p>

<p>A product of New Jersey's public schools and a graduate of the state's universities, Bob learned early on the importance of standing up for what's right, no matter how powerful the opposition. He first entered public service as a 19-year-old college student when his high school would not provide books to students who could not afford them. Bob launched a successful petition drive to reform the local school local school board and a year later won a seat on that very board. He stood up to corruption in Union City and went on to become its mayor, a state legislator and was elected to Congress in 1992. He quickly rose to leadership positions and has given New Jerseyans a seat at the table during critical negotiations on every issue since then: war and peace, jobs and the economy, education, health care, veterans issues, world affairs, transportation and housing.</p>

<p>Senator Menendez’s career has been a tribute to his desire to protect the powerless from the powerful and ensure fairness for every American. He led the fight in Congress to make sure New Jersey received its fair share of recovery funds to help communities rebuild after Superstorm Sandy, chaired Senate Banking Committee hearings to hold the administration accountable for getting relief resources out of Washington, and passed landmark bipartisan legislation providing relief to homeowners hit with unreasonably high flood insurance premiums.</p>

MENENDEZ, Robert, a Senator and a Representative from New Jersey; born in New York, N.Y., on January 1, 1954; graduated from Union Hill High School, Union City, N.J., 1972; B.A., Saint Peter's College, Jersey City, N.J., 1976; J.D., Rutgers University School of Law, Newark, N.J., 1979; lawyer, private practice; member of the Union City, N.J., board of education 1974-1978, and chief financial officer 1978-1982; mayor of Union City, N.J., 1986-1992; member of the New Jersey state general assembly 1987-1991; member of the New Jersey state senate 1991-1993; elected as a Democrat to the One Hundred Third and to the six succeeding Congresses, and served from January 3, 1993, to January 16, 2006, when he resigned to become a U.S. senator; chair, House Democratic Caucus (One Hundred Eighth through One Hundred Ninth Congresses); appointed on January 17, 2006, to the United States Senate to fill vacancy caused by resignation of Jon S. Corzine; service began on January 17, 2006, and took the oath of office on January 18, 2006; elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006 for the term commencing January 3, 2007; reelected in 2012, and again in 2018 for the term ending January 3, 2025; chair, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (2008-2011), Committee on Foreign Relations (One Hundred Thirteenth Congress [February 1, 2013-January 3, 2015], One Hundred Seventeenth Congress).