Women who have accused Donald Trump of sexual assault deserve to be heard, a top administration appointee has said.

A national reckoning with sexual impropriety has so far seen multiple members of Congress step aside after they were accused of inappropriate behaviour.

America’s ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said she was “incredibly proud” of the women who have come forward so far. Asked about the allegations made against Mr Trump, she said: “Women who accuse anyone should be heard.”

“They should be heard and they should be dealt with. And I think we heard from them prior to the election,” Ms Haley said in an appearance on current affairs TV programme Face the Nation. “And I think any woman who has felt violated or felt mistreated in any way, they have every right to speak up.”

Before Mr Trump won the 2016 presidential election, multiple women accused him of unwanted kissing or groping. A now infamous tape also emerged in which he bragged about sexual assault. And he faced another accusation this week as former Fox News anchor Juliet Huddy said Mr Trump tried to kiss her about a decade ago.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment about the latest allegation, but the President has rejected the allegations against him as false and branded the women liars. Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has confirmed that to be the White House’s official position.

Every woman to make sexual assault claims against Donald Trump Show all 16 1 /16 Every woman to make sexual assault claims against Donald Trump Every woman to make sexual assault claims against Donald Trump E Jean Carroll Author Carroll alleges that Trump pinned her against a wall and forced himself upon her in the changing rooms of a Manhattan department store in the mid-90s Getty Every woman to make sexual assault claims against Donald Trump Kristin Anderson Anderson alleges that Mr Trump touched her genitals while at a club in the early 1990s Every woman to make sexual assault claims against Donald Trump Jessica Leeds Leeds told the New York Times that Mr Trump groped her on an airplane in the 1980s BBC Every woman to make sexual assault claims against Donald Trump Natasha Stoynoff Stoynoff alleged that Mr Trump forcefully kissed her before an interview at his Mar-A-Lago estate in 2005 Everipedia Every woman to make sexual assault claims against Donald Trump Karena Virginia Virginia alleges Mr Trump groped her in 1998 outside of the US Open tennis tournament BBC News Every woman to make sexual assault claims against Donald Trump Temple Taggart Taggart claims Mr Trump gave her a kiss without consent during a rehearsal for a 1997 Miss USA pageant Every woman to make sexual assault claims against Donald Trump Summer Zervos The former Apprentice contestant alleged that Mr Trump kissed and groped her at a Beverly Hills hotel in 2007 Every woman to make sexual assault claims against Donald Trump Alva Johnson A former staffer for Trump's campaign, Johnson alleges that Trump forcibly tried to kiss her after a rally in August 2016 MSNBC Every woman to make sexual assault claims against Donald Trump Jennifer Murphy The former Apprentice contestant said Mr Trump "surprise kissed" her - but she said it did not bother her Every woman to make sexual assault claims against Donald Trump Jill Harth The makeup artist accused Mr Trump of "attempted rape" while in his daughter's room in 1997 Every woman to make sexual assault claims against Donald Trump Mindy McGillivray McGillivray alleges Mr Trump groped her at Mar-A-Lago in 2013 AP Every woman to make sexual assault claims against Donald Trump Rachel Crooks Crooks says that kissed her on the cheeks and mouth when she introduced herself to him in 2005 Every woman to make sexual assault claims against Donald Trump Mindy McGillivray McGillivray claims that Trump grabbed her backside at Mar-a-Lago in 2006 CNN Every woman to make sexual assault claims against Donald Trump Cassandra Searles The former Miss Washington alleges that Trump repeatedly grabbed her backside and invited her to his hotel room Getty Every woman to make sexual assault claims against Donald Trump Jessica Drake Drake claims that when she and two other women arrived to Trump's hotel room at his invitation, he arrived at the door in pyjamas and tightly hugged and kissed each of the woman without permission Getty Every woman to make sexual assault claims against Donald Trump Ninni Laaksonen The former Miss Finland claims that Trump squeezed her behind before they appeared together on the Late Show with David Letterman in 2006 EPA

Asked whether the election rendered the allegations “a settled issue”, Ms Haley said: “That’s for the people to decide.”

“I know that he was elected,” Ms Haley said. “But, you know, women should always feel comfortable coming forward. And we should all be willing to listen to them.”

In Congress, Minnesota Democrat Al Franken and long-serving Michigan Democrat John Conyers both resigned under pressure from party leadership after multiple women accused them of unwanted advances. Mr Conyers denied any wrongdoing, and Mr Franken said some of the accusations against him were false or that he remembered the alleged incidents differently.

While sexual misconduct allegations have toppled numerous figures in politics, media and entertainment, Mr Trump has so far been unscathed – a point Mr Franken made in a speech marking his resignation.

“I of all people am aware that there is some irony in the fact that I am leaving while a man who has bragged on tape about his history of sexual assault sits in the Oval Office,” Mr Franken said.

Al Franken resigns: Democratic senator stands down over sexual assault claims

On the campaign trail, Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore is forging ahead despite accusations of making unwanted advances toward teenagers when he was in his thirties. Mr Moore and his campaign have vociferously rejected those allegations as politically motivated falsehoods, saying: “I have never engaged in sexual misconduct”.