(RNN) – House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday that Rep. John Conyers, D-MI, should resign as accusations of sexual harassment swirl around him.

Earlier in the day, Conyers, D-MI, was hospitalized in the Detroit area.

A lawyer for Conyers pushed back on Pelosi’s call for him to resign during a Thursday press conference.

“It is not up to Nancy Pelosi. She did not elect the Congress, and it is sure the hell not up to her to tell her to leave,” Detroit-area attorney Arnold Reed said.

He also wondered why Pelosi isn’t also asking Franken to resign, and asked what is the difference between the legislators.

Reed said Conyers is focused on his health right now, not the allegations against him.

The attorney also strongly questioned the veracity of the sexual misconduct allegations against Conyers, asking of one of the accusers “why did she take the money” and put up with the alleged behavior for 11 years.

A spokesperson would not confirm Conyer’s condition to a Detroit-area TV station why the 88-year-old congressman was hospitalized, or for what reason.

However, a political consultant who spoke to Conyer’s wife told WDIV the congressman was hospitalized for stress. He would not say where he was admitted.

Conyers is under pressure to resign after multiple sexual harassment allegations surfaced in recent weeks. He has vowed to fight the accusations.

The congressman is one of many prominent men in the flood of allegations of sexual impropriety in recent months, most recently Matt Lauer.

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