New Faces in Congress is a diary series meant to highlight our new and diverse members of Congress in the Democratic Party. These 36 House freshmen range from political neophytes to seasoned legislative veterans. The series will run every Sunday morning, bright and early.
Last week, the New Faces in Congress series continued with a profile on Rep. Delia Ramirez of Illinois’ 3rd district. If you missed it, feel free to click on this link to read all about her!
Now featured in this series is a new member of Congress that has a serious ally already present in the upper chamber. His dad has been a Senator for the state of New Jersey for nearly two decades, and that likely gave him opportunities that other possible contenders for this district did not have.
When Rep. Albio Sires retired last year, this freshman quickly secured endorsements from all of the major political machines in this specific area of New Jersey. That made the primary a mere formality, and since it is a heavily Democratic district, it was tantamount to election in the 8th district, which is in the suburbs of New York City.
Today, the spotlight is on Rep. Rob Menendez!
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Rep. Rob Menendez (New Jersey-8)
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Biography
Rep. Rob Menendez has a lot to say for himself. His resume is thin on legislative experience, but do NOT consider him a nepotism based representative. He has earned his place in Congress, as this bio shows.
Raised in Union City as the grandson of Cuban immigrants and strong union members, Rob was born to a community leader and a public school educator who instilled in him at an early age the spirit and value of public service and giving back to his community.
Prior to being elected to the House of Representatives, Rob served as a Commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. He was the first Latino from New Jersey to serve on the Board and the first millennial Port Authority Commissioner. Rob served as Chair of the Governance and Ethics Committee and was a member of the Finance Committee, which exercises oversight over the agency's multi-billion dollar budget. During his time as a Commissioner, the Port Authority - through the leadership of its dedicated staff and employees - completed several critical infrastructure projects, including some of the Port Authority's largest investments benefitting New Jersey commuters, most notably Newark Liberty International Airport's $2.7 billion state-of-the-art Terminal A, expansion of the PATH’s capacity with its nine-car train project, planning for a new Midtown Bus Terminal, and record-setting activity at its ports.
An attorney, Rob previously worked at the national law firm of Lowenstein Sandler LLP. At Lowenstein, Rob served as outside counsel to a wide range of companies in the finance and technology spaces, often working with founders and executives of traditionally underrepresented backgrounds. His work helped to enable their success and promoted growth in their communities. He also worked with The Lowenstein Sandler Center for the Public Interest to serve communities and clients in need of pro bono representation.
Wikipedia adds a little more about his early life, including more about his family growing up.
Menendez was raised in Union City, New Jersey.[2] He was born to Robert Menendez, a New Jersey attorney and current U.S. senator, and Jane Jacobsen, a public school teacher, school nurse, and guidance counselor.[3] He is Cuban-American by way of his paternal grandparents who came to the United States in 1953, fleeing the regime of Fulgencio Batista.[4] Menendez attended Union City public schools through eighth grade and The Hudson School in Hoboken, New Jersey, for high school, graduating in 2003, and later serving on its board of trustees.[5][6] He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Juris Doctor from Rutgers Law School, during which time he was president of the Student Bar Association, served as Notes and Comments Editor for Rutgers Race and the Law Review,[7] received the Alumni Senior Prize,[8] and was selected as a Governor’s Executive Fellow at the Eagleton Institute of Politics.[9]
New Jersey politics can be frustrating at times, but Rep. Rob Menendez deserves to chart his own path, away from the shadow of his father. I’ll address the elephant in the room now, which is that his father, Sen. Bob Menendez, is accused of corruption. There is NO evidence that Rep. Menendez is anything like his father!
Notable Media Headlines
Rep. Rob Menendez is so far avoiding making the headlines, which is smart considering all of the negative headlines surrounding a different Menendez at this time. It was doubly difficult to find out anything about him, because he and his father share a name, and most of the lead stories were about Menendez, Sr.
He was a part of a delegation that travelled to Israel and Jordan about two months ago. There, he met with Prime Minister Netanyahu and with King Abdullah II as a part of the trip.
Yesterday, Congressman Rob Menendez returned from a bipartisan Congressional Delegation (CODEL) to Israel and Jordan where he met with top government officials including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and King Abdullah II of Jordan. Menendez joined Democratic and Republican colleagues to engage two of the United States’ most important and strategic allies beginning on Thursday, April 27th, and returning on Tuesday, May 2nd.
“It was an honor to visit our great friends and critical allies Israel and Jordan for my first international Congressional Delegation as a member of the United States House of Representatives,” said Congressman Rob Menendez. “Our commitment to supporting our allies is and always must remain bipartisan. I am grateful for the hospitality of Prime Minister Netanyahu and King Abdullah II, and to the people of Israel and Jordan for their friendship to the United States.”
Upon arrival in Jordan, Congressman Menendez and the delegation visited the ancient city of Petra, met with King Abdullah II, and later traveled to Israel for the remainder of the trip. In Israel, arriving just days after the 75th anniversary of the country’s establishment, the delegation met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana. The delegation visited the Knesset, the Western Wall, and the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial.
Rep. Menendez also made some headlines in heading back to his district to promote small businesses. He has been working hard to support his district in any way possible, as his Twitter feed will show if you choose to look at it. Those items rarely make the news, but they have the most impacts on the lives of people in the district.
Menendez also made notable comments about the anti-trans legislation being pushed by the House in April 2023. The comments were carried by Forbes, and he brought the heat for the GOP wasting time targeting trans children instead of focusing on real priorities.
The speech above shows that he is a capable orator and can make waves when he chooses to do so. Hopefully, the shadow of his father will eventually lift such that Rep. Rob Menendez can be his own person and not be tarred with that brush.
Bills and Legislative Priorities
Rep. Rob Menendez has been placed on the Transportation Committee and the Homeland Security Committee in the 118th Congress. Given his background above, both committees make a lot of sense for him to be on, though they aren’t the ones that often make notable headlines.
Bring home the bacon through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will be a huge part of his assignment on the Transportation Committee. Expect a lot of photo-ops like the one below!
As for his work on the Homeland Security Committee, it has been mostly criticizing ham-handed attempts by the GOP to pass racist immigration laws, as the following clip shows.
In terms of introducing legislation, he hasn’t been particularly active on that front yet. Such is life as a part of the minority in the legislature. However, if you live and represent New Jersey, this piece of legislation restoring the SALT deduction Trump took away is next to mandatory.
Menendez was a solid YES on the Bipartisan Debt Ceiling Deal, deciding that the risk of a default was too great to choose to vote no on this particular piece of legislation.
The Extreme Court gave him room to show which of the many horrible decisions meant the most to him. Here is his statement about both the affirmative action and LGBTQ+ rights cases.
Notably, he is in the House Hispanic Caucus but not the House Progressive Caucus. Nonetheless, he supports many of the priorities that other Democratic members of Congress do. This is by no means an entire list of the legislation he has co-sponsored or endorsed. For that, it is best to follow him on social media. For instance, he has around 1600 Twitter followers, which means he could do with a boost.
Hopefully, the audience here has been able to see through the ugly machine politics of New Jersey and the corruption allegations swirling around his father. Both of those make this one of the more challenging entries of this series to write. However, I hope that I have made the case that Rep. Rob Menendez deserves to be seen as his own man, and apart from every other possible negative.
Menendez has kept his head down — whether it is from a combination of avoiding the spotlight and inane questions about his father and nepotism, or the fact that he is still learning on the job. He certainly has a political pedigree, and that could translate to success with more seniority.
Next Sunday, I have the pleasure of profiling one of my favorite new members of Congress, Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost, from Florida’s 10th district. See you then!
Rep. Rob Menendez (New Jersey-8)
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