Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., on Thursday became the first senator to say he supports a vote to expel embattled Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., from the Senate over the federal bribery charges that have rocked Capitol Hill. …

“Now that it’s confirmed that he’s not going to go the honorable way, you know, I would like to pursue whatever avenues that are available. … Whatever way, you know, we can remove him, I hope that that’s pursued,” Fetterman said when asked about the possibility of expulsion.

A privileged expulsion resolution will be among the things his team will look at, Fetterman said. “Of course, we’re going to investigate whatever options are going forward. I would have hoped he would have just chose to do the right thing today.”

[This is highly unlikely to succeed, although perhaps it might convince Menendez to resign rather than risk the ignominy of even an expulsion motion. It takes two-thirds of the Senate to expel a member, which means Fetterman would need a significant number of Senate Republicans, who might be inclined to resist setting this precedent — as well as being happier to stick Democrats with the Menendez problem for as long as possible. Depending on who’s counting, there are around 30 Senate Democrats calling for Menendez to step down, but that’s not at all the same as supporting expulsion for someone who hasn’t yet been convicted of a crime nor had an Ethics Committee judgment rendered. Fetterman’s out over his skis on this one. — Ed]