"I've also spent a lot of time over this past year thinking about the broader conversation we've been having about the experience of women in this country. I know that, for so many people, this issue raises a lot of powerful and painful feelings," wrote Franken, a Democrat. "This conversation can also be incredibly complicated. I don't think it's my place to weigh in on all the debates -- but I will continue to listen and learn."
"What I will say, though, is that, after a year of reflection, I'm finding it a lot easier to be grateful this Thanksgiving. Grateful for having had the chance to help make a difference on issues I care about," he continued.
Franken resigned from the Senate in December following accusations of varying sexual misconduct, including groping a woman's buttocks at a state fair in 2010 and forcibly kissing and groping a woman during a 2006 USO tour. During his resignation speech on the Senate floor, Franken said that some of the allegations against him weren't true.
"I, of all people, am aware that there is some irony in the fact that I am leaving while a man who has bragged on tape about his history of sexual assault sits in the Oval Office," he said at the time, referring to the accusations of sexual misconduct against President Donald Trump, which he has repeatedly denied.
On Thursday, Franken added that he missed the Senate, but said he would "certainly" not be seeking a return to office.
"I still miss being in the fight every day, and while I'm certainly not running for anything, I hope that, in the next year, I'll have the chance to help make a difference again."
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