UPDATE -- Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) pleaded not guilty Monday before U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein for federal charges of conspiring to work as an agent of the Egyptian government, while serving the Senate. Menendez is chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (The Washington Post).

[CORRECTION: An earlier edition of this post misstated Sen. Menendez's congressional title.]

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) was due to be arraigned in federal court in New York Monday on new charges that he conspired to act as a foreign agent for Egypt by accepting bribes from January 2018 to at least June 2022, UPI News reports. He is expected to plead not guilty. Several of his fellow House Democrats have called on him to step down from Congress. 

Menendez’s wife, Nadine and businessman Wael Hana last week entered pleas of not guilty in the case last week.

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House Democrats will again nominate their minority leader, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, of New York, when voting for the next speaker commences this week. He will receive all his caucus' votes, which is five votes short of a win. Are any of the nine Republicans vying for the speaker's gavel, as described in the center column, worthy of a deal with Democrats to be elected to the post? If you lean left/liberal, let us know your thoughts in the Comment section below. Or email editors@thehustings.news and indicate your political leanings in the subject line.