“As elected officials, we should be held to the highest standards — not the lowest. The allegations against Sen. Franken describe behavior that cannot be tolerated. While he’s entitled to an Ethics Committee hearing, I believe he should step aside to let someone else serve,” New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said in a morning Tweet.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., third from right, joined other senators Wednesday in calling for Franken's resignation. She also appear that day with, from left, Reps. Walter Jones, R-N.C., Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., Gretchen Carlson, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on a new bipartisan bill to prevent sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

The message from Gillibrand was roughly simultaneous as a statement from Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, a Democrat from Hawaii who serveson the Judiciary Committee with Franken.

“Today, I am calling on my colleague Al Franken to step aside. I’ve struggled with this decision because he’s been a good Senator and I consider him a friend. But that cannot excuse his behavior and his mistreatment of women,” Hirono said. “TIME Magazine, by naming ‘The Silence Breakers’ as their ‘Person of the Year,’ is recognizing what women have always known: there are men among us who use their positions of power and influence to manipulate, harass, and assault women. What is new here is the women. We are, all of us, speaking out, naming names and demanding that the harassers take responsibility for their behavior.”

The calls for Franken to leave the Senate come amid an increasing number of allegations of inappropriate conduct toward women by the Minnesota senator.

Watch: Franken Previously Spoke on Floor About Sexual Harassment Protections, As Well As His USO Work With First Accuser