The statement by Romney, his party’s 2012 presidential nominee, is far stronger than what GOP lawmakers have said.

On Thursday, Republican senators largely agreed that The Washington Post story is disturbing, but they almost all added a caveat: Moore should go “if” the revelations are true.

“If these allegations are true, there is no place for Roy Moore in the United States Senate,” Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) said.

“If it is true, I don’t think his candidacy is sustainable, but we believe in a presumption of innocence until proven guilty and so I think it’s important for the facts to come out,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) told reporters Thursday. “It’s not just an allegation, it’s a story. There has to be something more to it so I’m interested in seeing what substantiation there is for the story.”

It’s not clear what else Republican senators want to see before they tell Moore to go. The four women in The Washington Post story are all on the record, with their names and photographs published.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was one of the only senators to also say that Moore needs to step aside now.