The longtime ally of Senator Menendez and the junior senator from New Jersey, Cory Booker, is joining the growing chorus of Democratic lawmakers calling on the lawmaker to resign following an indictment against him handed down last week.

Mr. Menendez was indicted on charges of corruption relating to his alleged role in helping a halal certification company maintain a state-granted monopoly on American exports to Egypt.

Monday, Mr. Menendez was defiant in his first public appearance since the indictment, maintaining his innocence and saying that those who have “rushed to judgment” have only a “limited set of facts.” After initially appearing hesitant to criticize Mr. Menendez, more and more of his colleagues on Capitol Hill are calling for his resignation.

In a statement, Mr. Booker said that he believes “stepping down is best for those Senator Menendez has spent his life serving” and that resigning “is not an admission of guilt but an acknowledgment that holding public office often demands tremendous sacrifices at great personal cost.”

“For nearly a decade, I’ve worked in the Senate alongside Senator Menendez,” Mr. Booker said. “I still believe he, like anyone involved with our criminal justice system, deserves our presumption of innocence until proven guilty. A jury of his peers will make the ultimate decision as to whether he is criminally guilty.” 

Mr. Booker, along with 17 other Democratic senators, have now called on Mr. Menendez to step down. Mr. Booker was also one of the last New Jersey Democrats in Congress to call for Mr. Menendez’s resignation.

Other senators who have called on Mr. Menendez to resign include Senator Tester, Senator Brown, and Senator Casey, all of whom are up for re-election in 2024.

“I’ve read the detailed charges against Senator Menedez and find them deeply disturbing,” Mr. Tester said in a statement. “While he deserves a fair trial like every other American, I believe Senator Menendez should resign for the sake of the public’s faith in the U.S. Senate.”

President Biden and his administration haven’t publicly taken a stance on Mr. Menendez’s resignation. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Monday that “any decision he has to make, that’s certainly gonna be up to him and the Senate leadership to decide, but of course, we see this as a serious matter. I’m just gonna leave it there for now.”

The Democratic leader, Senator Schumer, has thus far been silent on the matter, setting a different tone compared to other scandals among Senate Democrats, like in 2017 when he and other Democrats all but forced Senator Franken out of the upper chamber after he was accused of misconduct including touching women inappropriately.

At that time, weeks elapsed between the first women coming forward to accused Mr. Franken and Mr. Schumer and other members of the Democratic leadership calling on him to resign.