White House legislative affairs director Marc Short said of President Donald Trump: “He has concerns about the accusations." White House: Trump would campaign for Moore if he didn't believe accusers 
 
 The White House on Sunday refused to say where President Donald Trump stands on beleaguered Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, though legislative affairs director Marc Short suggested the president’s actions speak much louder than his words. 
 
 Many Republican lawmakers have called on Moore to step aside following allegations that he pursued romantic relationships with teenagers as a man in his 30s, including alleged sexual contact with a 14-year-old at age 32. Moore has denied the allegations, and the White House has been largely silent on the issue. 
 
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 Trump released a statement through White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders during his travel through Asia but notably hasn’t tweeted about Moore, a candidate he once pledged to campaign for if he defeated appointed incumbent Sen. Luther Strange in the special election’s GOP primary, which he did. 
 
 Short told ABC’s “This Week” that while “we are uncomfortable with the explanations that Roy Moore has given to date,” the issue is up to Alabama voters. 
 
 “We have serious concerns about the allegations that have been made, but we also believe that all of this information is out there for the people of Alabama,” Short said. “Roy Moore has been a public servant for decades in Alabama. He has run multiple times. The people of Alabama know best what to do and the right decision to make here.” 
 
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 Short repeatedly declined to answer “yes or no” when asked whether the president believes Moore’s accusers. He argued, however: “If he did not believe that the women’s accusations were credible, he would be down campaigning for Roy Moore.” 
 
 “He has not done that,” Short noted. “He has concerns about the accusations. But he’s also concerned that these accusations are 38 years old. Roy Moore has been in public service for decades, and the accusations did not arise until a month before election. So we are concerned about several aspects of the story.” 
 
 Trump, Short added, has not campaigned for Moore, endorsed him or issued robocalls. 
 
 “You should certainly be able to infer by the fact that he has not gone down to support Roy Moore his discomfort in doing so,” he said. 

 Washington (CNN) Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins said on Sunday that she does not believe Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore's denials of the sexual allegations against him and hopes the state's voters do not send him to Washington. 
 
 "I did not find his denials to be convincing at all," Collins said on CNN's "State of the Union." 
 
 The Washington Post published a report earlier this month based on interviews with more than 30 people that said Moore pursued relationships with teenagers while he was in his 30s. One woman alleged she was 14 years old when Moore initiated sexual contact with her. Alabama's legal age of consent, then and now, is 16. 
 
 Moore has continued to deny the allegations and he says he will not drop out of the race. 
 
 Collins noted she was against Moore before the "terrible allegations" came out against him, citing his conduct as chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, as well as his anti-Muslim and anti-LGBT comments. But she declined to say whether the Senate should move to expel Moore if he wins the December 12 election. 
 
 "These allegations are extremely disturbing, but under the Constitution, the test on whether or not you seat someone is whether they satisfy the age and residency requirement," Collins said. "We would have to seat him, but I hope we don't get there. ... I hope that the voters of Alabama choose not to elect him." 
 
 White House on Moore 
 
 President Donald Trump has not remarked publicly on the allegations against Moore. He initially supported appointed Republican Sen. Luther Strange in the election, but endorsed Moore after he won the primary. 
 
 White House legislative director Marc Short, speaking Sunday on ABC's "This Week," said the White House is "uncomfortable" with Moore's explanations so far, but said Trump is leaving the matter up to the voters of Alabama. 
 
 "We have serious concerns about the allegations that have been made," Short said. "The people of Alabama know best what to do." 
 
 Asked if Trump believed the women accusing Moore, Short said, "If he did not believe that the women's accusations were credible, he would be down campaigning for Roy Moore. He has not done that. 
 
 "But he's also concerned that these accusations are 38 years old," Short said. 
 
 Although Trump has yet to make comments on the matter, he took to Twitter on Thursday to slam Minnesota Democratic Sen. Al Franken about allegations that he forcibly kissed a woman and groped her while she slept. 
 
 JUST WATCHED Tapper goes through Trump accusers one-by-one Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Tapper goes through Trump accusers one-by-one 07:02 
 
 Franken has apologized for his behavior and said he welcomed an ethics probe into his conduct. 
 
 The unfolding situation has also drawn attention to Trump, who has been accused of sexual harassment and assault by more than a dozen women. 
 
 Collins, in her interview Sunday, said part of the reason she opposed Trump's bid for the presidency was because of allegations about his treatment of women. 
 
 "I did not support President Trump," Collins said. "He was not my candidate for President, and part of the reason why were allegations about how he treated women." 
 
 Collins said she made her decision on Trump before the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape came out last October, in which he bragged about being able to grope women because of his "star" status. 
 
 Sexual harassment in Congress 
 
 Missouri Republican Sen. Roy Blunt said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that he believed the women accusing Moore of misconduct are more credible than Moore, but like the White House, he said the decision is up to the Alabama voters at this point. 
 
 Blunt said regardless of who won the Alabama special election, it is incumbent on the Senate to do more to curb predatory behavior and ensure a safe workplace for all. 
 
 "We need to be sure that we've got an environment where people want to come and be part of that, where women are comfortable being part of that," Blunt said. 
 
 Asked about Trump and Franken, Blunt echoed the White House this week and said Franken had admitted wrongdoing, while the President continued to deny any. He said the accusations against Trump came out and voters still supported Trump. 
 
 "Whatever they had to say, people heard that and they elected President Trump the President of the United States," Blunt said. "At some point, I think you have to let the voters have a say here." 
 
 In a separate interview on the same program, a bipartisan pair of House members talked about their efforts to address sexual harassment in Congress. 
 
 "We had a lot of consensus on the changes that need to be made," said Virginia Republican Rep. Barbara Comstock. "We're on the same page, and we're going to get mandatory training, universal, uniform anti-harassment, zero-tolerance policies in place. We are not going to allow members to have any kind of fund pay for their harassment. That is universally agreed on. And we are also going to have better policies for the victims." 
 
 Comstock said she found the allegations against Moore credible and hopes he steps aside, adding, "For that matter, Al Franken can go hit the door with him." 
 
 Referencing the still undisclosed total of taxpayer funds that have gone to settle sexual harassment claims on Capitol Hill, Comstock and her Democratic colleague, Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell, said that going forward, members of Congress must be forced to pay any sexual harassment cases out of pocket and do so with transparency. 
 
 "What infuriates me is these confidentiality agreements," Dingell said.
– President Trump has been uncharacteristically quiet on the issue of Roy Moore, not so much as sending out a single tweet about the embattled Alabama Senate candidate and the multiple allegations of sexual misconduct against him. But to hear one White House adviser tell it, actions in this case speak louder than words, Politico reports. Appearing on ABC's This Week, Trump's legislative affairs director, Mark Short, said the fact that Trump has not campaigned for Moore or even endorsed him speaks volumes about his take on the situation. “You should certainly be able to infer by the fact that he has not gone down to support Roy Moore his discomfort in doing so,” Short said. In the past two weeks, several women have accused Moore of pursuing sexual relationships with them when they were teenagers and he was in his thirties, including one woman who was 14 at the time and another who claims the former Alabama State Supreme Court judge sexually assaulted her. And though Trump has not spoken about his support for Moore or the women's allegations, according to Short, “If he did not believe that the women’s accusations were credible, he would be down campaigning for Roy Moore.” On CNN's State of the Union, meanwhile, Republican Sen. Susan Collins said she did not find Moore's denials "convincing at all" and hopes "the voters of Alabama choose not to elect him."