Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., plans on staying in Congress for the time being after a sexual misconduct accusation rocked the up and coming senator last week.
A spokesperson for Franken said “no,” the senator will not resign in the wake of the accusation.
“He is spending time with his family in Washington, D.C., and will be through the Thanksgiving holiday, and he’s doing a lot of reflecting,” the spokesperson told The Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
Leann Tweeden, a current radio anchor at Los Angeles station KABC, wrote a story accusing Franken of kissing and groping her while the two were in Afghanistan together in 2006.
A photo was also published in which Franken is pretending to grope her breasts while she slept.
Franken issued a long statement apologizing for the behavior and said he would cooperate with a Senate Ethics Committee investigation. At the time of the incident, Franken was not yet in politics.
Tweeden said she accepted Franken’s apology and was not pushing for his resignation from the Senate.
After sexual harassment allegations ripped through Hollywood, the conversation has now arrived in Washington. In addition to the Franken incident, Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore is facing allegations of sexual assault and harassment from multiple women.
President Trump, who has also been accused of sexual misconduct, criticized Franken, but not Moore. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said the difference is that Franken has admitted wrongdoing and the president has not.
Trump has openly bragged about kissing and touching women without consent.
