Sen. Bob Mendendez’s guilty verdict Tuesday was quickly met with an avalanche of calls from within his own party to resign.

Menendez, D-N.J., was convicted of 16 charges, including bribery, honest services wire fraud, extortion, obstruction of justice, acting as an agent for Egypt and conspiracy. Prosecutors said he accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in gold, cash and other payoffs in exchange for political favors. 

Immediately after the verdict was read, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called for Menendez to step down.

“In light of this guilty verdict, Senator Menendez must now do what is right for his constituents, the Senate, and our country, and resign,” Schumer said.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the Democratic whip and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, echoed Schumer’s call.

Sen. Cory Booker repeated his plea from September for his fellow New Jersey senator to step down. Booker called Tuesday “a dark, painful day for the people of New Jersey.”

“Representing people in Congress demands the public’s trust,” the Democrat said in a statement. “When any elected official violates that trust, it’s a betrayal of the oath we take to serve the people who elected us.”

Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., who is running for Menendez’s seat, issued a similar statement, saying it was a “a sad and somber day for New Jersey and our country,” adding, “Our public servants should work for the people, and today we saw the people judge Senator Menendez as guilty and unfit to serve.”

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, also reiterated his earlier call for Menendez to leave the Senate. 

“Today's verdict finding Senator Bob Menendez guilty on 16 counts demonstrates that the Senator broke the law, violated the trust of his constituents, and betrayed his oath of office,” Murphy said. “In America, everyone – no matter how powerful – is accountable to our laws.

By midafternoon, Democratic Sens. Laphonza Butler of California, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Mark Kelly of Arizona, Gary Peters of Michigan and Tina Smith of Minnesota had also issued statements saying Menendez should resign, as well as a handful of House Democrats.

“Everyone deserves due process, and that’s what Senator Menendez has received,” Smith wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “He should now resign immediately.”

Menendez vowed to appeal the verdict and maintained that he’s innocent. He did not comment about his political future. Last month, Menendez filed to run for reelection as an independent.

If Menendez does not resign, the Senate could expel him with a two-thirds majority vote.

Some congressional Republicans also piled on Menendez after the verdict.

“Bob Menendez is the gold standard of political corruption,” Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., wrote on X.

“Senator Menendez, do the right thing for once and resign,” Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, posted.