But it wasn’t as if Menendez’s vote would have been decisive, and at one point, he told Reid he would back off if needed. Several other Democrats were also opposed to the bill, and Republican support was necessary to beat back the attempted GOP-led filibuster.
Menendez also held up two Obama nominees in order to win concessions from the White House on Cuba policy. During the omnibus debate, he — along with Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) — eventually got a letter from the Treasury Department promising to narrowly interpret the language in the bill.
And just last week, Menendez used unusually tough language to describe the president’s March 31 proposal to expand offshore drilling, saying the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico proved that the president made a “fundamentally terrible choice.”
Though the White House put the drilling plans on hold after the April 20 oil rig explosion off the coast of Louisiana, Menendez took the administration to task.
“It just seems to me that the administration made the wrong choice,” he said. “It’s interesting to me that they didn’t choose the West Coast to drill on. They’ve chosen the East Coast to drill on.”
Of course, Menendez is not the only Democratic leader to criticize the White House.
In the aftermath of the failed Times Square bombing, Schumer has complained about administration cuts to Homeland Security funding for New York City, and he also called on the White House to move the terrorism trial of alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed out of New York.
But unlike Schumer, some sources said Menendez has failed to lead on issues and establish himself as a visionary capable of rising in the Democratic ranks.
“He hasn’t really stepped out on issues,” said one Senate Democratic aide. “There needs to be a sense of gravitas and discipline.”
Still, Menendez has shown his ambition and drive at regular intervals in his career.
“I saw his rise in the House to the leadership position,” Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) said. “He earned it all the way. The same thing here. And everyone who has seen him work and seen how efficient he is and how willing he is to put in the labor, he’s entitled the respect that his efforts have borne.”
As a House Member in 2002, Menendez won the chairmanship of the House Democratic Caucus — the No. 3 spot — by just one vote. When then newly elected Gov. Corzine was looking to replace himself in the Senate, Menendez outmaneuvered other Democrats to snag the appointment.
But when Reid asked him to take on the DSCC in the fall of 2008, Menendez initially demurred. Sources said Reid had to ask him three times before he would commit.
Democrats said Menendez’s reluctance might have come from the fact that his performance was destined to be considered lackluster after Schumer’s successful four-year run as chairman. First, Schumer delivered the majority to Democrats in 2006, and then in 2008 he served up the largest Senate majority of any party since the 1970s.
But Menendez is battling against a deep economic slump and a serious anti-incumbent mood this cycle. Political pundits have predicted an overall Democratic loss of as many as eight seats — possibly including Reid’s.
Rep. Bill Cassidy has his blood drawn by Alesha Barbour during a free hepatitis screening in the Rayburn House Office Building hosted by the Congressional Viral Hepatitis Caucus to recognize "National Viral Hepatitis Testing Day."
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