U.S. Sen. Al Franken announced his intention to step down amid allegations of nonconsensual sexual misconduct.U.S. Sen. Al Franken announced late this morning that he plans to resign from office in the coming weeks after several women accused him of inappropriate sexual misconduct.
Pressure had built for the Minnesota Democrat to step aside following a chorus of calls to do so from dozens of mostly female Democratic colleagues.
“Serving in the United States Senate has been the great honor of my life. I know in my heart that nothing I have done as a senator — nothing — has brought dishonor on this institution,” Franken said in his speech. “Nevertheless, today I am announcing that in the coming weeks I will be resigning as a member of the United States Senate.
Though Franken heeded the calls for his resignation, he also clarified that he does not admit guilt to all of the accusations brought against him, stating some “simply
Franken initially maintained some level of deference on the issue from party leaders, but most of his support collapsed as additional women came forward with alleged incidents of misconduct.
“This is not a partisan issue, perpetrators of harassment and violence have no place in the U.S. government,” Eliana Locke, vice chair of the College Democrats at UW-Madison, said in a statement. “All politicians should be held to the same level of scrutiny, and no case of sexual assault should be dismissed.”
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton, a Democrat, has said he will declare a replacement within the next several days. Multiple outlets have reported that Lt. Gov. Tina Smith will be appointed to see out the remainder of Franken’s term, which ends in 2020.
