Senate Braces For Al Franken Speech As Calls For Resignation Crescendo
Senator Al Franken Image by Getty
By Ari Feldman December 7, 2017
Amid growing calls for his resignation, Senator Al Franken announced this morning that he will be giving a speech on the Senate floor before noon.
Franken’s office announced the speech in a bare bones tweet that belied the dramatic drop in support from congressional Democrats in the wake of a seventh accusation of sexual misconduct levied against the Minnesota politician.
Senator Franken is scheduled to deliver a speech from the Senate floor at 11:45 AM ET.
— Sen. Al Franken (@SenFranken) December 7, 2017
While some outlets are reporting that Franken will resign Thursday, others have cited Franken’s Twitter account, which demurred on the question of an immediate resignation.
“No final decision has been made and the Senator is still talking with his family,” Franken’s Twitter account tweeted in response to a Minnesota Public Radio story late Wednesday evening. “Please update your story.”
But the Democratic leadership is now standing firm in statements calling for Franken to leave.
“He has a higher obligation to his constituents and the Senate, and he should step down immediately,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement Wednesday.
Contact Ari Feldman at [email protected] or on Twitter @aefeldman
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
