Democrats including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) have called on Rep. Ruben Kihuen (D-Nev.) to resign from his first term in Congress amid allegations that he sexually harassed a campaign aide during the 2016 election.
The accusation was first reported by BuzzFeed News Friday, citing a former Kihuen campaign staffer identified only as Samantha. Per her account, Kihuen "propositioned her for dates and sex despite her repeated rejections," twice touching "her thighs without consent." Samantha told BuzzFeed she was unsure of how to address the situation and ended up quitting her campaign job.
Kihuen said in a statement that he can't "recall any of the circumstances she described" while apologizing for anything he did "that made her feel uncomfortable." Pelosi said she found the allegations "convincing," joining fellow Democrats like Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair Rep. Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.) in asking Kihuen to step down.