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Robert Menendez (D-N.J.)

U.S. Senator (since January 2006)

(Jeff Fusco/Getty Images)

Why He Matters

Menendez comes from the rough-and-tumble world of New Jersey politics, and it shows in his talents - and his liabilities.

The senator is a gifted fundraiser - he has raised millions of dollars for Democratic candidates since 2000, focusing particularly on Latino contenders. However, charges of shady ethics have followed him throughout his political career, nearly derailing his 2006 election bid.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: U.S. Representative (1992-2006)
Birthday: Jan. 1, 1954
Hometown: New York, N.Y.
Alma Mater: St. Peter's College, B.A., 1976; Rutgers Law School, J.D. 1979
Spouse: Jane Jacobsen-Menendez
Religion: Catholic
Committees: Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs ; Finance ; Foreign Relations
DC Office: 317 Senate Hart Office Building, 202-224-4744

State Office: Newark, 973-645-3030; Barrington, 856-757-5353
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Path to Power

Menendez was born in New York City to Cuban immigrants. His father, who killed himself when Menendez was 23, was a carpenter. His mother worked as a seamstress.

Menendez decided to go into politics after a jarring incident at his high school. He was invited to join the honors class, he told the New York Times, but only if he bought his own text books. His working-class parents couldn't afford that, he said, and he vowed to change the rules.

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He had his chance at the age of 20, when he was elected to the Union City school board while still a student at St. Peter's College in New Jersey. He graduated from the school with a B.A. in politics in 1976.

He soon started working for Union City Mayor William Musto (D). At first, Musto was a father figure to Menendez, teaching him the ins and outs of political life in New Jersey. But Menendez later quit and testified against his former boss in a corruption trial. He later told reporters he wore a bullet-proof vest to the trial.

Menendez went on to challenge his former mentor for the post of mayor, a move that cleaved New Jersey Democrats into two warring factions. "Was he a rat who turned on his father? Or a true reformer trying to clean up this mess? That was always the question," Rudy Garcia, once a close Menendez ally, told the New York Times.

Menendez was elected mayor of Union City in 1986, and to a seat in the state legislature a year later. He served as mayor and state representative simultaneously, a balancing act he kept up until he was named to the state Senate in 1991.

U.S. House

Menendez was elected to the House in 1992, thanks in part to his district. He won the seat by wide margins.

During the Elian Gonzalez saga, Menendez tried to pass legislation that would have made Gonzalez a citizen. Though the measure didn't make it out of committee, Vice President Al Gore, who was running for president at the time, considered naming Menendez as his running mate in order to shore up support in Florida.

Menendez was the first Hispanic to hold a leadership position in Congress. He was elected House Democratic Caucus chairman in 2002, the third most important position in the Democratic caucus. The victory was yet another hard fought effort - he beat Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) by just one vote.

Menendez was a star fundraiser in that job, raising more than $6 million over two election cycles and giving much of it to fellow Democrats. He also made it known that he wanted a higher office - he announced that he would run for whip if the Democrats regained their majority.

U.S. Senate Bid

However, Menendez kept his eye on the Senate. When Corzine was elected governor in a special election in November 2005, Menendez launched a shadow campaign to replace him. Five other candidates were also allegedly competing for the job, but Menendez had two advantages: the support of national Hispanic groups and formidable fundraising skills.

Menendez had to run for the position just ten months later against Thomas H. Kean Jr., a state senator and the son of a popular former New Jersey governor who chaired the independent 9/11 commission.

The campaign turned ugly fast, with Kean charging that Menendez was a "Hudson County political boss" who steered lobbying contracts to a woman with whom he had a personal relationship. He also accused Menendez of engaging in "questionable dealings," including funneling contracts to a group while they paid him back. The state's Republican attorney general began examining the charges at the same time. He was later cleared of wrong-doing.

Menendez ultimately prevailed in the Senate contest by nine percent. But associates said the tough race shook him up and that he spent several months regrouping.

In 2007, he was enlisted to serve as deputy chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC).

Menendez was elected chair of the DSCC in 2008, charged with holding onto the Senate Democratic majority regained in 2006.

The Issues

Menendez is a liberal Democrat who supports labor causes, universal health care, and a balanced immigration policy. He voted with his party 96 percent of the time in the 110th Congress.

In Congress, Menendez has become a leading voice on foreign policy issues. He was the top ranking Democrat on the House Committee of Foreign Affairs International Relations subcommittee and the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on international development. In those seats, he's focused on promoting Latin American issues. He accused President George W. Bush of ignoring the country's southern neighbors while spending billions of dollars in Iraq.

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Menendez is not afraid to take on Republicans. When the GOP. tried to rejigger the Ryan White CARE Act to shift millions of dollars in subsidized AIDS drugs from New York and New Jersey, he banded with Schumer, former New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) to force a compromise that restored cuts.

He also teamed with Lautenberg to block President George W. Bush's appointment of Stephen L. Johnson to head the Environmental Protection Agency after the administration proposed easing standards for reporting the release of toxic pollutants. Ultimately, the EPA agreed not to take up the proposal, and Menendez released his objections to Johnson.

Iraq

Menendez opposed the 2002 resolution authorizing Bush to use force in that country, and has continued to speak out against the invasion. He supported the 2007 war supplemental funding bill that set the goal of March 31, 2008, for most troops to be out of Iraq.

Immigration

Menendez has tried to position himself as the "Democratic Party's conscience on immigration." In 2004, he proposed his first piece of legislation, a bill that would have allowed many illegal immigrants to apply for permanent guest worker status or citizenship.

Menendez supported the broad immigration plan that crashed and burned in the Senate in 2006. However, he took issue with particular provisions, including language that would have required entire families to return to their home countries before they could apply for a permanent resident visa.

Menendez would like to create a system in which illegal immigrants must pass a series of benchmarks in order to earn their citizenship, including paying a fine and learning English.

In 2008, he co-sponsored a bill that would have given high school graduates who are illegal immigrants a six-year window to either graduate college or serve in the military. If they do so, and also do not commit any crimes, they would be eligible for permanent citizenship.The bill did not make it out of committee.

In 2004, he also co-sponsored legislation with Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) that would have required law enforcement officials to follow stricter rules when conducting immigration raids. The measure was designed to protect lawful citizens from being illegally detained. But it never reached a vote.

Cuba

Menendez is a hard-liner on the U.S. relationship with Fidel Castro's regime. He supported the 1992 Cuban Democracy Act and played a key role in convincing President Bill Clinton to sign the 1996 Helms-Burton Act, which tightened the embargo against the country.

The Environment

New Jersey's struggle to clean up waste has turned Menendez into an advocate for environmental measures, particularly those that will benefit his state. He has advocated for more money for pollution control and protection for the state's ocean front.

He also worries about increasing security on the state's chemical plants to protect his constituents from a terrorist attack.

The Network

Menendez has teamed with Launtenberg on several pieces of legislation, and the pair has a good track record of delivering for New Jersey. He is also close with Rep. Albio Sires (D-N.J.), who inherited his old House seat.

Menendez's legislative clout was buoyed by the immigration debate. As one of the highest-ranking Hispanic American members of the Senate, Menendez's endorsement, particularly on immigration plans, was sought by both then-Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.)and Barack Obama (D-Ill.).

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Additional Resources