Senator Rounds comments on Washington, D.C., affairs
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HURON – Embattled Sen. Al Franken’s decision to resign as one of Minnesota’s Democratic senators differs from the litany of sexual misconduct allegations against President Trump because voters were aware of them when they elected Trump 13 months ago, Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said Thursday.
A couple hours before Rounds hosted his weekly conference call with reporters, Franken announced he will resign in the coming weeks, saying he could not be effective in the Senate if he remained while an ethics probe moved forward.
“Clearly, the allegations against the president were in front of the American people before the election,” Rounds said.
“The American people looked at that and they based their decision with full knowledge of those allegations,” he said.
He said members of the Senate can express their support for Trump when they believe he’s correct and voice their doubts when they think he’s doing things inappropriately, Rounds said.
“He’s not a member of the Senate,” he said. “Clearly, there are limits as to what we have the power to do to express our disappointment.”
Above all, he said he and others in the chamber want the president to succeed.
Mean-while, Rounds said he’s grown increasingly frustrated in his three years in Washington, D.C., with congressional delays in passing the dozen appropriations bills each year.