14 Democratic senators call for Al Franken to resign

Senators Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Kamala Harris of California and Patty Murray of Washington were the first to say Franken should step aside in what appeared to be a coordinated release late Wednesday morning. Franken has been accused of sexual harassment and misconduct by a series of women dating back to November.

After the initial statements, the first seven female senators were joined by Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Michael Bennet of Colorado and Ed Markey of Massachusetts.

Earlier Wednesday morning the latest accuser had stepped forward, saying that Franken had tried to forcibly kiss her, an allegation Franken denied. Wednesday morning also was the release of Time magazine’s Person of the Year, which went to “The Silence Breakers,” women and men who had stepped forward about being sexually assaulted and harassed.

In the wake of the calls for his resignation, Franken tweeted that he would make an announcement on Thursday.

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