New Jersey Democratic Governor Phil Murphy is expected to select his former chief of staff to replace outgoing Sen. Bob Menendez, who announced he would be stepping down after his conviction on corruption charges. 

Murphy will pick George Helmy, who worked as the governor’s chief of staff for four years, to replace Menendez, according to multiple reports. Helmy left Murphy’s team in October 2023 and became the chief external affairs and policy officer for RWJBarnabas Health.  

Helmy received high praise from Murphy, who reportedly picked him over Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ), who won the Democratic primary for Menendez’s seat and is running to replace him in November’s election. Helmy would finish up Menendez’s term which ends in January. 

“Simply put, you cannot write the history of our administration without recognizing George’s singular role in leading our team for over four and a half years,” Murphy said after Helmy left his office.

The Republican nominee for Senate, Curtis Bashaw, praised the selection of Helmy.

“Governor Murphy did the right thing in appointing a temporary caretaker to this seat and letting New Jersey voters make the ultimate decision on who will best represent them in the United States Senate come November,” he said. “On Election Day, I’m confident New Jerseyans will vote to make a change from the Democratic monopoly that has brought them decades of corruption, higher taxes, and chaos at the border.”

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Menendez announced that he would leave the Senate by August 20 after he was convicted on 16 counts, including bribery, extortion, wire fraud, obstruction of justice, and acting as a foreign agent. He will be sentenced on October 29 and faces up to 222 years in prison. 

Prosecutors said that Menendez used his clout to help a friend secure a multi-million dollar investment deal from the Qatari government, in part by taking actions as a senator that benefited Qatar. They also said that Menendez was bribed with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, gold bars, and a Mercedes-Benz. 

The New Jersey Democrat was the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when federal investigators say the bribery scheme took place. 

Menendez believes that he will be able to reverse his convictions on appeal. 

“Obviously, I’m deeply, deeply disappointed by the jury’s decision. I have every faith that the law and the facts did not sustain that decision and that we will be successful upon appeal,” he said after the conviction.