Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) plans an announcement on Thursday amid a growing groundswell of senators—including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer—calling for his resignation over sexual harassment allegations.
The planned announcement raises speculation that Franken would step down, however his office said that no decision has yet been made.
The tide against Franken turned swiftly Wednesday morning. Eleven Democratic female senators led by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), released coordinated statements asking Franken to resign, following the most recent allegation—one of six—of sexual harassment, according to the New York Times.
By the afternoon, the first Democratic male senator, Bob Casey, from Pennsylvania, joined in. He was followed by most of the remaining Democratic senators including Sen. Schumer.
Senator Franken will be making an announcement tomorrow. More details to come.
— U.S. Senator Al Franken (@SenFranken) December 6, 2017
After MPR News reported the planned resignation, a tweet from Franken’s official account said it was “not accurate.”
“No final decision has been made and the senator is still talking with his family,” the tweet read https://t.co/8A1j7p9Y06
— MPR News (@MPRnews) December 6, 2017
Here’s a list of all Democratic and independent senators (who caucus with the Democrats) who have called for Franken to step down, as reported by Politico:
- Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)
- Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y)
- Sen. Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii)
- Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.)
- Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.)
- Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.)
- Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.)
- Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.)
- Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.)
- Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.)
- Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio)
- Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.)
- Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.)
- Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.)
- Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)
- Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.)
- Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.)
- Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)
- Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)
- Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.)
- Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.)
- Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.)
- Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.)
- Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.)
- Sen. Angus King (I-Maine)
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)
- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)
- Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)
- Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.)
- Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.)
- Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.)
- Tom Udall (D-N.M.)
As elected officials, we should be held to the highest standards—not the lowest. The allegations against Sen. Franken describe behavior that cannot be tolerated. While he’s entitled to an Ethics Committee hearing, I believe he should step aside to let someone else serve.
— Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) December 6, 2017
According to Politico, Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) declined to comment because of a pending investigation of Franken’s behavior by the Senate Ethics Committee.
Several Republican senators have also called for Franken to step aside, including Sen. Susan Collins (D-Maine) and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). McConnell is dealing with alleged scandal in his own party with Roy Moore, the Republican running for an open Senate seat in Alabama, who has been accused of sexual misconduct with a 14-year old, along with dating women in their teens when he was in his 30s.
“There’s been no change of heart,” McConnell said on Tuesday, about Moore. “I had hoped earlier that he would withdraw as a candidate, and obviously it’s not going to happen. If he were to be elected, he would immediately have an ethics committee case, and the committee would take a look at the situation and give us advice.”
On Tuesday, Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), the “dean of the House” retired effective immediately following several allegations of sexual harassment. Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas) has also been accused of sexual harassment.
Over a dozen women have accused President Donald Trump of offenses ranging from sexual harassment to sexual assault, according to the Guardian.
On Wednesday, another allegation of sexual harassment emerged against Franken. An anonymous woman came forward claiming that Franken tried to kiss her as she was leaving his radio show in 2006 (two years before he was elected to the Senate).