John Fetterman Says He'll Return Campaign Donation from Bob Menendez as He Calls on Indicted Senator to Resign

Fetterman says he will return a $5,000 campaign donation "in envelopes stuffed with $100 bills" — nodding to the money that investigators found stashed away in Menendez's things, according to new indictment on federal bribery charges

Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman says he will return a $5,000 campaign donation he received from New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez — a fellow Democrat — and that he'll do so "in envelopes stuffed with $100 bills," a nod to the lawmaker's recent indictment on federal bribery charges.

Last week, Menendez and his wife, Nadine, were indicted following an investigation into their business dealings with three men who have ties to Egypt's government.

The 39-page indictment alleges that Menendez, 69, and his wife, 56, accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of bribes in exchange for protecting the three businessmen — Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes — and to "benefit" the government of Egypt. Some of those bribes, prosecutors say, came in the form of envelopes stuffed with cash.

"Over $480,000 in cash — much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe — was discovered in the home, along with over $70,000 in Nadine Menendez's safe deposit box," the indictment alleges. Menendez, who was chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the time of the indictment, has since told reporters the cash came from his "personal savings."

Related: Sen. Bob Menendez, Wife Charged with Bribery After Allegedly Accepting 'Cash, Gold, a Luxury Vehicle' and More

Speaking to NBC News, Fetterman's spokesperson said of Menendez's earlier donation: “We are in the process of returning the money in envelopes stuffed with $100 bills.”

Fetterman was among the first in a growing chorus of lawmakers calling on Menendez to step down in light of the indictment.

Related: John Fetterman Defeats Dr. Oz in Critical Pennsylvania Senate Race, Huge Win for Democrats

Other Democrats — junior New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown and Vermont Sen. Peter Welch — have since also called on Menendez to step down.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy issued a statement last week calling on Menendez to resign and saying the allegations against him were "deeply disturbing."

"These are serious charges that implicate national security and the integrity of our criminal justice system," Murphy said. "Under our legal system, Senator Menendez and the other defendants have not been found guilty and will have the ability to present evidence disputing these charges, and we must respect the process. However, the alleged facts are so serious that they compromise the ability of Senator Menendez to effectively represent the people of our state. Therefore, I am calling for his immediate resignation."

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Calls for his resignation come as Menendez is up for reelection in 2024. He's said he has no plans to step down.

Menendez now faces a primary challenger — U.S. Rep. Andy Kim — who announced that he would run against the Democrat just days after the indictment was unsealed.

"After calls to resign, Senator Menendez said 'I am not going anywhere.' As a result, I feel compelled to run against him. Not something I expected to do, but NJ deserves better. We cannot jeopardize the Senate or compromise our integrity," Kim wrote on X.

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