After huddling for hours Wednesday, senators plan to meet privately again Thursday, one day after releasing an Ethics Committee report that laid a "significant failure of judgment and leadership" at the feet of former Senate president Stanley Rosenberg in connection with the alleged behavior of his husband, Bryon Hefner.
The Senate has scheduled a joint caucus of Democrats and Republicans for 11 a.m. Thursday in Senate President Harriette Chandler's office, her office said.
Senators met privately for five hours Wednesday to discuss the report's findings and the committee's recommendations that Rosenberg be barred for the remainder of this session and the next two-year session from serving as Senate president, in Senate leadership or as chair of any committee. Senators did not reach any conclusions Wednesday.
Those same talks are expected to be at the center of Thursday's caucus. The Senate also plans to conduct normal business in a formal session Thursday afternoon and the caucus could determine whether the Senate takes action on the committee's recommendations Thursday.
As the senators gather, five of Rosenberg's fellow Democrats -- Sens. Barbara L'Italien, Paul Feeney, Jamie Eldridge, James Welch and Jonh Keenan -- have called on the former Senate president to resign from his elected position.
Gov. Charlie Baker and Attorney General Maura Healey have done the same.
Sen. Will Brownsberger, vice chair of the Senate Committee on Ethics, said he expects the Senate will "take further action soon."
He said he fully supports the report's findings and the committee's recommendations. Brownsberger said he plans to "make little if any additional comment" on the report and recommendations.
"The answer to most questions has to be 'read the report' — I don't want to paraphrase or inaccurately summarize the careful work of the investigator and the committee," Brownsberger wrote Wednesday night on his website.
"I am hopeful that after tomorrow, we can begin turning the page and healing as a body," Chandler said in a statement on Wednesday night.
