New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is expected to appoint his former chief of staff, George Helmy, to fill the seat that will be vacated by convicted U.S. Sen Bob Menendez, D-N.J., next week, multiple state media reports say.
Helmy served as Murphy’s chief of staff for more than four years and most recently was employed as an executive and head of external affairs for RWJBarnabas Health. Murphy’s appointment means Helmy will serve out the remainder of Menendez’s term, which expires on Jan. 3.
The seat was already up for election on Nov. 5. Democrats have nominated U.S. Rep. Andy Kim, who’s in a strong position in the Democratic-leaning state. He faces Republican Curtis Bashaw. While still on trial in July, Menendez filed to run as an independent candidate for re-election.
Helmy, who also previously served as state director for Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., will now serve beside him in the upper chamber until the end of the 118th Congress.
Murphy could have handed Kim a possible seniority advantage by appointing him to the vacated seat. Kim competed against the governor’s wife, Tammy Murphy, in the Democratic primary. The New Jersey first lady later withdrew her candidacy in late March.
DEMOCRATIC SEN. BOB MENENDEZ GUILTY ON ALL CHARGES IN FEDERAL CORRUPTION TRIAL
Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., speaks to the media as he exits Manhattan federal court on July 16, 2024, in New York City. (Adam Gray/Getty Images)
Helmy is not the first former senior aide to earn caretaker senator appointments from former bosses. New Jersey Republican Jeffrey Chiesa, Massachusetts Democrat Mo Cowan and West Virginia Democrat Carte P. Goodwin did the same, according to Roll Call.
Menendez will resign Aug. 20 following his conviction for taking bribes for corrupt acts including acting as an agent of the Egyptian government. The senator had insisted after the July 16 verdict that he was innocent and in a July 23 letter announcing his upcoming resignation to Murphy, a fellow Democrat, Menendez promised to appeal “all the way,” including to the Supreme Court.
The roughly monthlong delay in leaving gives Murphy’s staff time for an orderly transition, Menendez wrote. The date also coincides with a Senate payday, according to the Associated Press.
Menendez, 70, was convicted of charges that he sold the power of his office to three New Jersey businessmen who sought a variety of favors. Prosecutors said Menendez used his influence to meddle in three different state and federal criminal investigations to protect his associates. They said he helped one bribe-paying friend get a multimillion-dollar deal with a Qatari investment fund and another keep a contract to provide religious certification for meat bound for Egypt.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy celebrates Juneteenth on June 19, 2024, in Newark, He will tap former chief of staff, George Helmy, to replace Sen. Bob Menendez. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
COULD BOB MENENDEZ RUN FOR RE-ELECTION AFTER BEING FOUND GUILTY OF CORRUPTION?
He was also convicted of taking actions that benefited Egypt’s government in exchange for bribes, including providing details on personnel at the U.S. embassy in Cairo and ghostwriting a letter to fellow senators regarding lifting a hold on military aid to Egypt. FBI agents found stacks of gold bars and $480,000 in cash hidden in Menendez’s house.
After his conviction, Menendez denied all of those allegations, saying “I have never been anything but a patriot of my country and for my country. I have never, ever been a foreign agent.”
Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., leaves Manhattan federal court on July 16, 2024. (MEGA/GC Images)
But numerous fellow Democrats had urged him to resign, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Murphy had urged the Senate to expel Menendez if he didn’t quit. Only 15 senators have ever been expelled. Sen. William Blount, of Tennessee, was ousted in 1797 for treason. The other 14 were expelled in 1861 and 1862 for supporting Confederates during the Civil War.
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Menendez faces the possibility of decades in prison. A judge scheduled his sentencing on Oct. 29, a week before the election.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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