Here's what happened when I called Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's office re: Al Franken

[Hortensis]

168. And the senate LEADERSHIP did, which means nothing apparently.

But as the lesson some really don't like clearly teaches, there is nothing in the rules to keep disapproving colleagues from just asking a senator to leave and nothing in the rules to keep him from saying he will, eventually.

As for why the ethics investigation couldn't have taken place, ask the mob that sprang up here. Their passion and avowed goal was having another 32 Democrat senators join Franken in leaving. Franken was merely the excuse to turn on over 2/3 of the Democratic senate caucus.

Not that they could destroy the Democratic senate caucus, of course, but for a while they were sure invested in that exciting, highly questionable idea.

On, it may be only 31 senators were to join Franken. They're doing their best to pretend Bernie Sanders isn't among those 32. Which he is.

NPR:

Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine — both independents who caucus with Senate Democrats — have called on Franken to step down.

"Sen. Franken has said that he will be making an announcement about his political future tomorrow. The right thing is for him to resign." Bernie Sanders