Minnesota Sen. Al Franken is resigning amid multiple sexual misconduct allegations.
Once a rising star in the Democratic Party, Franken made the announcement in a speech Thursday on the Senate floor.
The two-term lawmaker has repeatedly apologized as several women stepped forward to accuse him of sexually inappropriate behaviour, from groping to forcibly trying to kiss them.
But a fresh allegation on Wednesday unleashed a torrent of Democratic demands that Franken step aside. Female senators led the chorus.
During his speech, Franken also pointed out that while he was quitting, U.S. president Donald Trump continues to face multiple misconduct allegations himself.
“I am aware that there is some irony in the fact that I am leaving, while a man who has bragged on tape about sexual assault sits in the Oval Office, and a man who has repeatedly preyed on young girls campaigns for the Senate [Alabama's Roy Moore] with the full support of his party.”
Franken is an actor who appeared on "Saturday Night Live'' and an author who narrowly won his Senate seat in 2008 after a prolonged vote count. He has been a fierce opponent of the Trump administration.
His political fall has been swift by congressional standards. The first allegation surfaced on Nov. 16.
-CJAD 800's Richard Deschamps contributed to this report.