Disapproval Rating: 32 Percent Approval Rating: 42 Percent
No Opinion: 26 Percent
Menendez got his start in New Jersey local politics, and joined the U.S. Senate in 2006. In 2015, the Justice Department indicted Menendez and one of his major donors, Florida ophthalmologist Salomon Melgen, in connection with a bribery scheme. The Justice Department's press release revealed: "According to allegations in the indictment, between January 2006 and January 2013, Menendez accepted close to $1 million worth of lavish gifts and campaign contributions from Melgen in exchange for using the power of his Senate office to influence the outcome of ongoing contractual and Medicare billing disputes worth tens of millions of dollars to Melgen and to support the visa applications of several of Melgen’s girlfriends."
