Image by Gabriella Demczuk/Getty Images

By Nathan Guttman December 18, 2017

On December 7, an emotional Al Franken took to the Senate floor to announce that following allegations of sexual misconduct, which he denies in part, he’s resigning from his position as Minnesota’s junior senator. But Franken didn’t provide an exact date for his departure, triggering rumors about whether his decision to step down is, in fact, final.

And while speculations about Franken’s resignation timeline continue, a group of fellow Democratic senators is having second thoughts about whether the move is indeed necessary. Politico reported that 4 Democrats, including some who have initially called for Franken to step down, are now asking him to reconsider. “I hope they have enough guts … and enough conscience and enough heart to say, ‘Al, we made a mistake asking prematurely for you to leave,’” said West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin.

Franken, according to the report, is not open to reversing his decision and plans to leave the Senate some time in January. Minnesota’s lieutenant governor Tina Smith has already been selected to replace Franken for the reminder of his term.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected] or on Twitter @nathanguttman

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount