Sen. Robert Menendez speaks with Sen. Bill Nelson during the Senate Finance Committee’s markup of health care legislation on Sept. 29, 2009.

Most days are a whirlwind for New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez, who, as chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, is tasked with raising campaign cash for his colleagues when he’s not attending to business on the Finance, Banking and Budget committees.

Menendez, the only Hispanic senator, has made the most of the seat he was initially appointed to in 2006, when Jon Corzine was elected governor of New Jersey. Later that year, Menendez won the seat in his own right. Two years later, he succeeded rainmaker Chuck Schumer as chairman of the DSCC.

Born in New York, Menendez now calls Hoboken, N.J., home when he’s not racing around Capitol Hill.

This photo essay by POLITICO’s John Shinkle offers an inside look at a typical workday for Menendez.