Franken, soon-to-be-gone, but back at Senate job

Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., who said last week he'll step down in the coming weeks due to mounting allegations of sexual misconduct, attends a hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2017. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., who said last week he'll step down in the coming weeks due to mounting allegations of sexual misconduct, attends a hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2017.

Franken back at Senate job despite soon-to-be-gone status – Tue, 12 Dec 2017 PST

Al Franken is the Senate's dead man walking, still doing his day job despite his soon-to-be-gone status. The two-term Minnesota lawmaker told a somber Senate last Thursday he would resign amid multiple allegations of sexual misconduct and in the face of vanishing support from fellow Democrats.

2018 race for Franken seat attracts lots of names, sets up seismic shift

Sen. Al Franken's decision to step down amid a growing sexual-harassment scandal has scrambled Minnesota's 2018 election. Political operatives in Minnesota and Washington were drawing up lists of candidates to run for Sen. Al Franken's Senate seat even before his resignation speech last week, searching for prospects with the profile, fundraising prowess and mettle to sprint to next November's special election - and then do it again in 2020 to hold the seat another six years.

In Franken’s fall, sudden Senate pickup chance for GOP

Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., second from right, holds hands with his wife Franni Bryson, left, as he leaves the Capitol after speaking on the Senate floor, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Franken said he will resign from the Senate in coming weeks following a wave of sexual misconduct allegations and a collapse of support from his Democratic colleagues, a swift political fall for a once-rising Democratic star.

Hard to identify winners, losers in post-Franken scenarios

Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., leaves the Capitol after speaking on the Senate floor, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Photo Credit: AP / Andrew Harnik He became the first television comedian to win a U.S. Senate seat.

Female Lieutenant Governor Poised to Take Frankena s SeatIf the…

On Thursday, Al Franken will announce that, in light of the growing number of sexual-harassment allegations against him , he has decided to resign from the Senate. Unless he announces that he's actually comfortable staying on as a pariah - or else, that he's decided to leave the Democratic caucus, and join a party that takes a more nuanced view of sexual predation.

The Note: On #metoo, a partisan split

Sen. Al Franken takes a break during the Neil Gorsuch Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing as President Donald Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., March 20, 2017. The coordinated push to get Sen. Al Franken to resign reflects a new, cleaner, and more internally aggressive approach by top Democrats to demonstrate accountability in their own ranks.

Trump officially recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital,…

Sen. Al Franken will resign, Democratic official says - A Democratic official who has spoken to Al Franken and key aides says Franken will resign his Minnesota Senate seat on Thursday, the official tells MPR News. - The official spoke to Franken and separately to Franken's staff.

Minneapolis requests National Guard for Super Bowl security

Minneapolis city officials are asking the governor to mobilize the Minnesota National Guard to help with security during the upcoming Super Bowl. Mayor Betsy Hodges and Mayor-elect Jacob Frey, in a letter to Gov. Mark Dayton, say the city police can't meet all of the safety and security needs during the 10 days of Super Bowl activities while still covering the rest of the city.

Dayton: Shouldn’t take long to elect two new legislators

Two Minnesota lawmakers are resigning amid allegations of sexual harassment, and on Wednesday Gov. Mark Dayton said it shouldn't take long to replace them. Dayton said he'll call for special elections soon once he receives formal notices from state Sen. Dan Schoen, a Democrat from St. Paul Park, and Rep. Tony Cornish, a Republican from Vernon Center.

2 Minnesota lawmakers to resign amid misconduct allegations

Two Minnesota state lawmakers hit by sexual misconduct allegations announced they would resign, less than two weeks after they were accused of misdeeds that ranged from groping colleagues to persistent unwanted sexual advances and sexting. Democratic Sen. Dan Schoen, who allegedly grabbed a woman's buttocks at a campaign event and made unwanted advances toward other women - including sending Snapchat photos of male genitalia to a female Senate employee - was the first to go Tuesday, with his attorney saying Schoen had decided he could no longer be effective.