Gillibrand defends calling for Franken’s resignation: ‘I would stand by those women again’

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday doubled down on her decision to call for former Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) to resign, saying she “would stand by those women again.”

“For my part, I chose to stand by eight women,” Gillibrand told SiriusXM host Zerlina Maxwell on “Signal Boost” on Tuesday. “I would stand by those women again. I value women, so my position is really clear.”

Her remarks came in response to comments by fellow Democratic presidential contender, South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who said Monday that he would not have been as quick to call for Franken’s ouster.{mosads}

During a Monday night town hall on MSNBC, Buttigieg, who did not name Gillibrand, said he “would not have applied that pressure” to Franken before a full investigation.

The way Franken’s Senate Democratic colleagues “basically held him to a higher standard than the GOP does their people has been used against us,” Buttigieg said, adding, “I think it is not a bad thing that we hold ourselves to a higher standard.”

Gillibrand responded to Buttigieg’s comment later Monday night, saying in a statement that “it was Senator Franken’s decision alone to leave the Senate — a path he ultimately chose — but for many senators, including myself and others in this primary field, that was not too high a of a bar to raise our voices and make clear we value women.”

Franken resigned in January 2018 amid allegations of inappropriate conduct from eight women. Gillibrand, who was the first senator to call for Franken’s resignation, also defended her decision in March, saying she “stood up for women who came forward” in doing so.