The bipartisan Senate Ethics Committee voted unanimously on Monday to advance an inquiry into Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey, signaling that it was moving swiftly to lay the groundwork to potentially expel him after his federal bribery conviction last week.
In a statement, the committee said its work had progressed to an “adjudicatory review,” meaning that its members had found “substantial cause” to believe Mr. Menendez had violated the law or Senate rules.
The vote will almost certainly increase pressure on Mr. Menendez, a Democrat, to resign, by showing that his colleagues are serious about threats to hold an expulsion vote if he does not step down voluntarily.
“At the completion of the adjudicatory review, the committee will move expeditiously to submit a written report to the Senate including specific findings and any recommendations for disciplinary action,” the committee’s leaders, Senators Chris Coons of Delaware and James Lankford of Oklahoma, wrote in the statement.
The Senate’s gravest form of punishment, expulsion has not been used since the 19th century and requires the support of two-thirds of senators. But a growing number have said it is warranted by Mr. Menendez’s conviction on all counts in a sweeping bribery scheme involving a foreign power and bars of gold.
Mr. Menendez, 70, has maintained his innocence and vowed to appeal the guilty verdict. The New York Times reported last week that he had told allies he was considering stepping aside rather than face the ignominy of an expulsion vote. But Democrats in Washington and New Jersey worried that he might be preparing to dig in for a longer fight.
It remained unclear on Monday if Mr. Menendez would return to Capitol Hill on Tuesday when the Senate reconvenes for regular business. The Constitution does not bar convicted felons from holding office, and Senate rules do not immediately strip him of his ability to serve on committees or receive classified intelligence briefings.
Neither the senator’s lawyers nor Robert Kelly, Mr. Menendez’s chief of staff, responded to a request for comment about the Ethics Committee inquiry or the senator’s plans.
Mr. Menendez is said to be weighing a complicated set of legal, political and reputational questions for himself and his two children, Representative Rob Menendez of New Jersey and the MSNBC anchor Alicia Menendez. They include whether to follow through with a campaign for re-election this fall as a political independent. (Representative Andy Kim is the Democratic nominee for Mr. Menendez’s seat.)
There are also pressing financial concerns. His trial made clear that Mr. Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, were already experiencing financial strain before their legal trouble began. But now, the government is trying to seize hundreds of thousands of dollars in assets it says were ill-gotten. His legal bills are mounting, and under a federal anticorruption law, the senator stands to lose his federal pension if his conviction is upheld.
Mr. Menendez’s $174,000 Senate salary and health benefits appear to be his only financial lifeline — and could be enough to persuade him to stay in office as long as possible.
“The financial incentive is to wait to get expelled, because he is making more money each day,” said Kedric Payne, the senior director of ethics at the Campaign Legal Center. “If he is just trying to buy lunch, he needs to stay in Congress.”
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