in november 2017, he was accused of sexual abuse of underage girls in the past. republicans such as john mccain and mitt romney called for moore to drop out of the race after the allegations were reported. other senators withdrew their endorsements of moore's senate candidacy. days later, senate majority leader mitch mcconnell announced that he believes the women who made the accusations and that moore should "step aside". speaker of the house paul ryan also called for moore to abandon his campaign. president donald trump, however, expressed support for moore.