TRENTON, NJ — New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy will appoint his former chief of staff George Helmy as interim senator when Bob Menendez steps down later this month after his conviction on federal bribery chargesaccording to an insider.
Helmy, who served as Murphy’s top aide from 2019 to 2023, is now an executive at RWJ Barnabas Health, a large health care provider in the state. He was previously an aide to New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision was not public ahead of an expected announcement Friday in Newark.
His nomination means Murphy bypasses Rep. Andy Kim, the Democratic nominee for the seat on the November ballot, and runs against Republican hotelier Curtis Bashaw. Kim briefly locked in a tough primary with first lady Tammy Murphy before dropping her bid. Murphy’s pick deprives Kim of a seniority boost if he were to win the seat in November.
Menendez wrote in a letter to Murphy last month that he will step down on August 20, a little over a month after the jury’s verdict. He said he planned to appeal.
Menendez, 70, was convicted on charges that he sold the power of his office to three New Jersey businessmen seeking various favors. Prosecutors said Menendez used his influence to interfere in three separate state and federal criminal investigations to protect his associates. They said he helped one venal friend close a multimillion-dollar deal with a Qatari investment fund and another retain a contract to provide religious certification for meat destined for Egypt.
He was also convicted of taking actions that benefited the Egyptian government in exchange for bribes, including providing information about personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, ghostwriting a letter to fellow senators seeking to lift a freeze on military aid to Egypt. FBI agents found stacks of gold bars and $480,000 stashed in Menendez’s home.
After his conviction, Menendez denied all of the charges, saying, “I have never been anything other than a patriot of my country and for my country. I have never, ever been a foreign agent.”
Numerous Democrats had urged him to resign, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Murphy had called on the Senate to expel Menendez if he did not resign. Only 15 senators have ever been expelled. Senator William Blount, of Tennessee, was expelled in 1797 for treason. The other 14 were expelled in 1861 and 1862 for their support of the Confederacy during the Civil War.
Menendez’s sentencing is scheduled for late October, shortly before the election.