There’s no love lost between John Fetterman and his colleague Robert Menendez.
When Senator Menendez of New Jersey was indicted last month on charges of bribery and the other crimes, the first person to call for his resignation was Senator Fetterman, who represents neighboring Pennsylvania. “He’s entitled to the presumption of innocence, but he cannot continue to wield influence over national policy, especially given the serious and specific nature of the allegations. I hope he chooses an honorable exit and focuses on his trial,” Fetterman tweeted, just one day after prosecutors unveiled the charges.
Many other senators would follow suit, including members of leadership. But as Menendez maintained his innocence and defied calls to step down, Fetterman kept up a singularly intense pressure campaign, announcing his intent to return donations to his 2022 Senate campaign from a Menendez PAC and reiterating his call for his resignation. Last week, prosecutors filed a superseding indictment accusing Menendez as acting as an agent on behalf of the Egyptian government in connection with the charges pending against him. The serious charge prompted a new statement from Fetterman calling for Menendez’s expulsion, saying, “We cannot have an alleged foreign agent in the United States Senate. This is not a close call.”
Now, things are getting heated IRL. The Hill reports that Menendez and Fetterman exchanged words as they crossed paths on opposite escalators near the Senate subway on Tuesday:
The two senators also got into an in-person tiff as they rode the escalator in opposite directions to the Capitol from the Senate subway area Tuesday morning. According to sources, Fetterman told Menendez that Tuesday would be a great day to resign.
Menendez reacted, telling Fetterman that he is hanging onto this issue too closely, echoing a line he told HuffPost a night earlier. Fetterman mockingly responded that he is “consumed” by Menendez’s indictment.
Fetterman didn’t let up after that encounter. On Tuesday afternoon, he raised concerns about Menendez possibly attending a Wednesday classified briefing on Israel in light of the new charges against him.
Menendez later announced that he would not be attending the briefing.
