Veteran US senator Robert Menendez has temporarily stepped down as head of the chamber's powerful foreign relations committee as he battles bribery charges.
Justice department prosecutors allege Robert Menendez and his wife accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for aid to Egypt's government, reports BBC.
The couple, however, has denied the charges.
The embattled senator has rejected calls from fellow Democrats back in his home state of New Jersey to resign his seat.
Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said on Friday that Menendez had decided to step down as chairman of the influential committee "until the matter has been resolved".
The New York Democrat said his colleague was "a dedicated public servant and is always fighting hard for the people of New Jersey".
It is not the first time that Menendez, who has served in Congress since 2006, has had to give up the coveted post on the foreign relations panel.
He also stepped down in 2015 after being indicted in New Jersey on charges that he had accepted bribes from a Florida eye doctor.
Bd-pratidin English/Golam Rosul
