Robert Menendez, U.S. senator, indicted for corruption

U.S. Senator Robert Menendez will temporarily step aside as ranking member, or top Democrat, on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in the wake of his indictment on corruption charges, two Senate aides said on Wednesday.

Aides said that Maryland Senator Benjamin Cardin, one of the most senior Democrats on the influential panel, would step in as ranking member.

They said another senior committee Democrat, California's Barbara Boxer, would remain ranking member on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee rather than take the position on foreign relations.

Aides to Menendez and Republican Senator Bob Corker, the foreign relations panel's chairman, declined comment, as did aides to Boxer and Cardin.

Hawkish Democrat

A move by Menendez to step aside as ranking member would remove one of the Senate's most hawkish Democrats from an influential position in the realm of foreign affairs.

The New Jersey lawmaker has co-authored legislation that would tighten sanctions to increase pressure on Iran during talks on curbing its nuclear program, and another measure that would force President Barack Obama to submit any nuclear deal with Tehran for congressional approval.

Obama has threatened to veto both measures, saying they threaten the talks.

Menendez, the son of immigrants from Cuba, also opposes Obama's moves toward normalizing relations with Havana, saying the island nation's communist government must come further on human rights.