Democratic Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) drew praise from conservative commentators after he made an appearance on "The View" and strongly called for the ouster of fellow Democrat Bob Menendez (D-NJ) amid the dismissal of Republican George Santos in the House.
Fetterman: "We have a colleague in the Senate that's actually done much more sinister kinds of things. He needs to go. If you are going to expel Santos, how can you allow Menendez to remain in the Senate? Menendez is really a Senator for Egypt, not New Jersey." pic.twitter.com/OdWTznfnmL
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) December 1, 2023
Before Santos was ousted, Fetterman said he wouldn't be surprised if the Republican ended up ousted but then commented that "the more important picture is is that we have a colleague in the Senate that actually did much more sinister and serious kinds of things."
"Senator Menendez, he needs to go, and if you are going to expel Santos, how can you allow to somebody like Menendez to remain in the Senate?" said Fetterman in a surprising critical comment against a colleague in his party. "He has the right for his day in court and all that,t but he doesn't have the right to have those kinds of votes and things that — that's not a right. And I think we need to make that kind of decision to send him out."
"[Menendez] is really a senator for Egypt, not New Jersey," said Fetterman, who weeks ago had already questioned the Democratic governor of California, Gavin Newsom, for not having "the guts" to announce his candidacy for president.
Menendez was quick to respond to Fetterman, sending harsh comments to Politico magazine.
"Mr. Fetterman appears to think he's judge, jury, and executioner. The junior Senator from Pennsylvania seems to be more interested in clickbait than justice," Menendez countered. "He cannot say he stands for core constitutional principles of due process and the presumption of innocence when he is actively working to undermine my rights. I'm confident when all the facts are presented, I will be exonerated and the Senator will have to eat his words."
This is not the first time that Fetterman has asked for Menendez's expulsion, who in September was accused, along with his wife, on federal charges of bribery and extortion after accepting alleged gifts of cash, gold bars, luxury cars, and home mortgage payments worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In particular, the senator was accused of accepting bribes in exchange for using his political position to benefit businessmen and the government of Egypt between 2018 and 2022. He was also accused by prosecutors of acting as a foreign agent for Egypt.
Menendez did not accept his expulsion from the Senate and pleaded not guilty to all charges.
