With assists from POLITICO’s Congress team

WHAT ABOUT ROB?

A Menendez is in political trouble in New Jersey. And we don’t mean Bob.

Rep. Rob Menendez, a first-term Democrat, is facing a stiff primary challenge from Ravi Bhalla, the mayor of Hoboken. There’s no indication that Rob Menendez was part of the corruption scandal that’s led to multiple federal charges for his father, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), but Bhalla has used those legal travails as a cudgel against the younger candidate.

Which means that the alleged sins of his father could still cast a shadow over Rob Menendez’s bid to hang onto Bob’s former House seat. Some recent polling shows Rob Menendez trailing Bhalla, who has outraised him so far this cycle. And Bob Menendez’s potential independent Senate bid could also complicate his son’s plans if the two appear on the same ballot.

To hear Rob Menendez tell it, though, an old-fashioned focus on constituent services and local issues will power him through.

“Those who know me best know that since Day One, I have put every fiber of my being into doing the work for the residents of our great district,” he said in a lengthy statement. “I am grateful for the support of my colleagues at all levels who have seen me do the work ... I look forward to continuing to collaborate with all of them on this important work and I will always put people above politics.”

In the months since his father was indicted, he’s significantly increased his advertising compared to the months prior, according to an analysis of his Facebook ad analytics. On his official page, he regularly posts about office hours, constituent services and local policy issues.

Bob Menendez’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Still, the junior Menendez hasn’t shied away from swiping at Bhalla. They have frequently sparred on X, formerly known as Twitter, with Bhalla trying to link Rob Menendez to his father’s bribery indictment.

Menendez’s campaign has run ads accusing Bhalla of having ethics problems of his own; Bhalla has faced some disciplinary issues as a lawyer, including the temporary suspension of his law license in New York.

But even as Democrats sprinted away from the elder Menendez, they’ve largely stood behind the incumbent House lawmaker. The top three members of House Democratic leadership have endorsed him, with Caucus Chair Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) taking part in a recent event for Rob Menendez.

Even Bob Menendez’s fiercest critics are inclined to give the younger Menendez a pass.

“People should be judged in terms of their own actions,” said Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.), his party’s likely Senate candidate to succeed the elder Menendez. “People just need to ask themselves who they think is going to be able to best represent them and their needs, and I hope that that’s what it comes down to.”

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who’s embraced the role of Bob Menendez intraparty foil, said he had nothing against the embattled House member. Yet he made clear that Rob’s fate is up to the voters.

“I don’t have anything against him personally,” Fetterman said. I don’t believe that he was part of all of the depravity and all that kind of sleaze.”

Rob Menendez has the backing of most of the state’s congressional delegation, too, with his fellow Democrats praising his work in Congress so far.

Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) said it would be “pretty sick” if voters associated the younger Menendez with his father’s woes.

“He’s a great guy … and he’s a good congressman, and I’m supporting him,” he said. “I’ve already contributed. The folks that are here support him because he’s worked very hard. He hasn’t just taken a number and taken a seat.”

— Nicholas Wu and Ursula Perano

GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Inside Congress, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Friday, April 26, where we hope you enjoy the White House Correspondents’ Dinner weekend!

FETTERMAN’S CHIEF OF STAFF SWITCHUP

Hill veteran Adam Jentleson is moving on from his role as Sen. John Fetterman’s (D-Pa.) chief of staff. He will now take on a senior adviser role, and Fetterman Deputy Chief of Staff Krysta Juris will be taking the reins.

This was a “planned shift,” per Fetterman spokesperson Carrie Adams, with Jentleson having helped build up the office from scratch last year. Both Jentleson and Juris previously worked for the late Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid — a longtime senator who, like Fetterman, was known to chart his own path in the chamber.

— Ursula Perano

KAINE ON COLLEGE PROTESTS

College campus protests over Israel’s handling of the war in Gaza are sweeping the nation. And while sprawling encampments of students continue to object to their schools’ Israel-related investments, one Senate Democrat acknowledged that the situation has grown “difficult” and “tense.”

“We just need to empower good university leaders to take appropriate steps,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) told reporters on Friday. “Protests are going to get attention, but there’s a whole lot of college campuses that are managing to deal with this.”

The protests are yet another sign of discontent among young voters this cycle over ongoing U.S. support for the conservative Israeli government amid prolonged Palestinian civilian casualties. Congress voted overwhelmingly to send more aid to Israel just this week.

And with a little more than six months to go before Election Day, progressive activists continue to press voters to cast “uncommitted” ballots in Democratic primaries to express disagreement with President Joe Biden’s approach to Israel. They’ve had some success, with plenty of primaries left to go.

Asked about the “uncommitted” push, Kaine said that “anybody ought to be concerned about the situation in Israel-Gaza, it’s a huge, huge issue.”

“But look, we’re all hoping – not just for politics, but for the world – that the situation in the Middle East is in a significantly better place as we move into the summer into the fall,” he added.

— Ursula Perano

JOHN THUNE, SPORTS AFICIONADO

As part of our series getting to know Senate GOP leadership candidates a bit more — earlier this month we looked at John Cornyn’s foodie status — we thought we’d ask a timely question during NBA playoffs season: How deep does Minority Whip John Thune’s love of the game really go?

The South Dakota Republican is one of the Senate’s resident basketball fanatics. In fact, it’s no secret that Thune is a sports and fitness aficionado in general. A quick glance at his social media — donning pics of workouts and pit stops at games galore — says it all. And Thune has said that in another life, he would actually have wanted to be a sportscaster.

But he still finds means to do that … kind of … like when he hopped on a Fox Sports Aberdeen broadcast last month to analyze a local basketball game.

Basketball is indeed his specialty, as he showcases on the regular. Thune is regularly spotted at South Dakota basketball games and comes from a basketball family. He gives shoutouts to South Dakota athletes on the Senate floor and has taken the lead on legislation promoting a tax deduction for the costs of getting fit (e.g. sports equipment).

Thune is known to be a regular at the Senate gym. We’re told that during this year’s rare Super Bowl Sunday session, Thune was one of the senators holed up by the wheeled-in television.

(For those unfamiliar with Thune fitness lore, a few other moments from recent memory stand out, like a pushup challenge he completed a few years back, or his backflip off a boat.)

So our big question is: What’s the bigger lesson in the senator’s love of the game as he runs to lead the Republican conference? Thune certainly seems drawn to competition. And with months to go in the race to lead the Senate GOP next Congress. he’s likely to get plenty of it.

“He is the most competitive person I know,” a person familiar with Thune’s sports-driven mindset told POLITICO. “And hates losing.”

— Ursula Perano

HUDDLE HOTDISH

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) visited the encampment of pro-Palestinian demonstrators at Columbia University on Friday. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) also stopped by.

QUICK LINKS

The 10 Thirstiest Members of Congress, from POLITICO staff

Trump VP contender Kristi Noem writes of killing dog – and goat – in new book, from Martin Pengelly at The Guardian

Thieves snatched Rep. Adam Schiff’s luggage from a car in San Francisco. He had to give a dinner speech without a suit, from Kevin Fagan at the San Francisco Chronicle

TRANSITIONS

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MONDAY IN CONGRESS

The House and Senate are in session.

MONDAY AROUND THE HILL

Quiet.

TRIVIA

THURSDAY’S ANSWER: No one get this one! Sen. S.I. Hayakawa (R-Calif.) was an in-law of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin (Hayakawa’s brother-in-law, the late architect William Wesley Peters, was married to Joseph Stalin’s daughter, Svetlana).

TODAY’S QUESTION, from the Hill team: What was the second state to grant women full voting rights?

The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Inside Congress. Send your answers to [email protected].

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