Sen. Robert Menendez

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) has been embroiled in a controversy involving his relations with a Miami campaign contributor and the awarding of a security contract at a port in the Dominican Republic. Here is a look at the senator’s career in Washington.

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Jan. 28, 2013

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), right, and Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), join other senators in announcing that they have reached agreement on the principles of sweeping legislation to rewrite the nation's immigration laws. In January, the senator’s role in Washington grew as he became chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

J. Scott Applewhite / AP

Robert Menendez is seen in his 1972 high school yearbook. Menendez grew up poor in Union City, N.J.

/ Union Hill High School via AP

Menendez was a member of the high school bowling team.

/ Union Hill High School via AP

March 12, 1996

Menendez, then a member of the House of Representatives, stands among other members of Congress and guests as President Bill Clinton signs the Helms-Burton Act, which extended and expanded the United States embargo against Cuba. Menendez is the son of Cuban immigrants.

Denis Paquin / AP

Dec. 9, 2005

Menendez is flanked by his son, Rob, and daughter, Alicia, as he speaks to a crowd at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, N.J., after being selected by New Jersey Gov.-elect Jon S. Corzine to serve the remaining year of Corzine’s Senate term. Menendez served in the House from 1993 to 2006.

Mel Evans / AP

June 30, 2006

Menendez and Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) talk as they walk together before touring some neighborhoods in Trenton, N.J., that had been recently flooded.

Mel Evans / AP

Nov. 2, 2006

Menendez raises arms with Lautenberg, then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine (D) during a campaign rally for Menendez in Hoboken, N.J.

Mike Derer / AP

May 11, 2007

Menendez stands by actress Brooke Shields as she speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in support of legislation for federal investment in postpartum depression education, detection and treatment.

Susan Walsh / AP

June 12, 2007

Then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Menendez walk away from the podium after it was announced that Menendez was endorsing Clinton for the Democratic Party’s nomination for president.

Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP

April 22, 2008

Menendez meets with singer Shakira in his office on Capitol Hill. The pop singer met with Menendez to discuss the Education for All Act, which would provide basic education to children worldwide. As the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee that oversees U.S. foreign assistance programs, Menendez co-sponsored the bill.

/ Office of the senator via AP

July 28, 2008

Menendez speaks with the media outside the immigrant detention center in Elizabeth, N.J. Menendez proposed a bill that would standardize health care procedures for those held in immigration custody.

Mike Derer / AP

Sept. 4, 2011

President Obama walks with Menendez in Newark after they returned from Paterson, N.J., where they went to view damage caused by Hurricane Irene.

Charles Dharapak / AP

Nov. 6, 2012

Menendez addresses a crowd in New Brunswick, N.J., after defeating his Republican challenger, state Sen. Joe Kyrillos, in his race for the Senate.

Mel Evans / AP

Jan. 3, 2013

Vice President Biden administers the Senate Oath to Menendez during a mock swearing-in ceremony on Capitol Hill.

Cliff Owen / AP

Jan. 23, 2013

Menendez, Senate Foreign Relations chairman, sits next to Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, the senior Republican on the committee, as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton testifies before the committee about the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on U.S. diplomatic sites in Benghazi, Libya.

Jason Reed / Reuters

Jan. 24, 2013

From left, Corker, Menedez and Clinton join Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) in a photograph before Kerry's confirmation hearing to become the next secretary of state. Kerry’s nomination allowed Menendez to rise to the chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

FEATURED PHOTO GALLERIES

A police forensics officer investigates a crime scene where one man was killed in Woolwich, southeast London May 22, 2013. British Prime Minister David Cameron has called a meeting of his government's emergency Cobra security committee after the killing of a man in south London, his office said on Wednesday. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth (BRITAIN - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Terrorism cited in London cleaver attack

Two assailants hacked to death a man reported to be a British soldier on a busy East London street Wednesday afternoon before delivering an apparent...

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 21: Statues on display on the Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical Garden in The Great Pavilion at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show on May 21, 2013 in London, England. The Chelsea Flower Show run by the RHS celebrates its 100th birthday this year. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

Photos of the day

Chelsea Flower Show, face transplant in Poland, Oklahoma residents cope with tornado aftermath and more.

ANNAPOLIS, MD - MAY 20: The Herndon Monument Climb is the traditional culmination of plebe year at the United States Naval Academy. The plebes climb to the top of the lard-covered 21 foot high monument and remove the 'dixie cup' hat at the top replacing it with an upperclassman's hat. After completing this, the freshmen are called 'fourth class midshipmen.' This class completed the task in 1 hour 32 minutes and 43 seconds. The hat was placed by Patrick Lien from Orlando. (Photo by Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

The Herndon Climb

The Herndon Monument climb is the traditional culmination of plebe year at the U.S. Naval Academy.

Lea Bessinger salvages a picture of Jesus as she and her son Josh Bessinger sort through the rubble of the elder Bessinger's tornado-ravaged home Tuesday, May 21, 2013, in Moore, Okla. A huge tornado roared through the Oklahoma City suburb Monday, flattening an entire neighborhoods and destroying an elementary school with a direct blow as children and teachers huddled against winds. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Tornado near Oklahoma City causes more damage

Rescue workers are searching for survivors after a twister carved a long path of destruction in a suburb of Oklahoma City. It was part of the...

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 21: Ken Marino, Erica Oyama, Ben Stiller, Chris Harrison, and Mike Rosenstein aceept the Webby Award for 'Burning Love' at the 17th Annual Webby Awards at Cipriani Wall Street on May 21, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for The Webby Awards)

Eye on entertainment

Ben Stiller, Jerry Seinfeld, Emma Stone, 2 Chainz, Tyrese Gibson, Susan Boyle and more.

This combination of Associated Press photos shows left, a neighborhood in Moore, Okla., in ruins on Tuesday, May 4, 1999, after a tornado flattened many houses and buildings in central Oklahoma, and right, flattened houses in Moore on Monday, May 20, 2013. Monday's powerful tornado in suburban Oklahoma City loosely followed the path of a killer twister that slammed the region in May 1999. (AP Photo)

Okla. tornado loosely followed path of 1999 twister

Monday’s powerful tornado in suburban Oklahoma City loosely followed the path of a killer twister that slammed the area in May 1999.

A Burrowing owl tries to perch on a protective rope in a public park in Cooper City, Fla. Monday, May 20, 2013 as rain falls. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

Animal views

Fun and fascinating creatures around the world.

A man walks on sulphur and mineral salt formations near Dallol in the Danakil Depression, northern Ethiopia April 22, 2013. The Danakil Depression in Ethiopia is one of the hottest and harshest environments on earth, with an average annual temperature of 94 degrees Fahrenheit (34.4 Celsius). For centuries, merchants have travelled there with caravans of camels to collect salt from the surface of the vast desert basin. The mineral is extracted and shaped into slabs, then loaded onto the animals before being transported back across the desert so that it can be sold around the country. Picture taken April 22, 2013. REUTERS/Siegfried Modola (ETHIOPIA - Tags: BUSINESS SOCIETY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

ATTENTION EDITORS: PICTURE 2 OF 30 FOR PACKAGE 'ETHIOPIA'S ANCIENT SALT TRAIL'
SEARCH 'DANAKIL DEPRESSION' FOR ALL

Ethiopia’s salt trail

For centuries, merchants have traveled to Ethiopia’s Danakil Depression with caravans of camels to collect salt from the surface of the vast desert basin. The mineral is extracted...

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