March 12, 2018 - 11:45 AM
DES MOINES, Iowa - The Latest on the resignation of Iowa's state Senate leader (all times local):
1:40 p.m.
The top leader in the Iowa Senate says he's resigning after a video posted on a liberal news website purportedly showed him kissing a statehouse lobbyist.
Senate Republicans released a statement Monday announcing that Senate Majority Leader Bill Dix was resigning effectively at 2 p.m. from his leadership post and as a state senator.
Republicans in the GOP-controlled chamber plan to elect a new majority leader on Wednesday.
The incident caps a swift response from Republicans in the chamber after the liberal website Iowa Starting Line published video and photos showing Dix and a woman together at a bar. The video shows the two kiss.
The website says the incident was recorded March 1.
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1 p.m.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds plans to meet with the state Senate's top leader after a website posted photos and video allegedly showing the married Republican kissing a statehouse lobbyist.
Reynolds told reporters Monday she was "disappointed" about the allegation against Senate Majority Leader Bill Dix. The liberal website Iowa Starting Line published video and photos showing Dix and the woman kissing at a bar. It says it was recorded March 1.
Neither Dix nor the lobbyist responded to requests for comment from The Associated Press.
Senate Democrats released a statement calling it a "serious matter" and accused Dix of failing to take responsibility after a former Senate staffer filed a lawsuit claiming sexual misconduct in the workplace.
Reynolds said she would meet with Dix Monday afternoon but declined further comment.
News from © The Associated Press, 2018