Feinstein: Mayor Filner should resign after sex harassment claims

San Diego Mayor Bob Filner (D) should resign over sexual harassment allegations, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said Sunday.

“I don’t think that somebody who is lacking a moral compass really sets a role model or really will provide the kind of leadership that San Diegans want,” Feinstein said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

{mosads}Filner, a Democrat, has resisted calls for his resignation amid allegations of sexual harassment. Seven women have accused him of sexual misconduct, including inappropriate comments and advances.

The mayor said he would enter an inpatient therapy facility, but would not resign. His critics have begun looking toward a recall.

Feinstein said a recall would be appropriate given Filner’s “lack of a moral compass,” but resignation would be quicker.

“I think he should make it easier and resign,” she said.

Filner has faced strong criticism from Democratic lawmakers, with Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.) urging him to resign and calling his behavior “reprehensible and indefensible”

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Filner and former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), who admitted last week to ‘sexting’ women long after similar revelations forced him out of Congress, had been “disrespectful of women.”

“If they’re clueless, get a clue. If they need therapy, do it in private,” Pelosi told reporters.