FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky’s Republican House speaker has resigned his leadership position after acknowledging he settled sexual harassment claims from one of his staffers last month.

Jeff Hoover announced his decision Sunday. He denied sexually harassing the staff member, but said he sent inappropriate text messages that were consensual. His wife and two of his three daughters were in the room as he spoke.

Hoover said he will remain in the Legislature. House Speaker Pro Tempore David Osborne will become the acting speaker.

The announcement comes as Governor Matt Bevin is trying to push through changes to the state’s troubled pension system. Hoover had said he would not vote for Bevin’s bill without changes.

Hoover has been speaker since January when Republicans took control for the first time in nearly a century.

Bevin, a Republican, said the harassment scandal in the state house involves ‘‘multiple events and multiple people’’ and has called on everyone involved to resign immediately without naming them publicly.

Bevin held a news conference at the state Capitol on Saturday, days after the Courier-Journal reported that Hoover settled a sexual harassment claim outside of court with one of his staffers.

‘‘I am calling . . . for the immediate resignation of every individual who has settled a sexual harassment case who is party to trying to hide this type of behavior,’’ Bevin said.

He stressed that the allegations have not been denied and that they ‘‘were not isolated to a single person or a single event but involve multiple events and multiple people.’’

Bevin did not name Hoover or anyone else. But in a news release Saturday night, Hoover said he was disappointed that Bevin had called for his resignation.

House GOP leaders said they plan to hire a private law firm to investigate the allegations. The leaders said they did not consult Hoover about the decision to launch an investigation, but had told him about it. The release said the investigators would have the power to subpoena witnesses.

A statement attributed to several legislative leaders — Speaker Pro Tempore David Osborne, majority leader Jonathan Shell, majority whip Kevin Bratcher, and majority caucus chairman David Meade — had said Hoover had the support of the Republican caucus to remain in his leadership position during the investigation.

But support for Hoover among the House Republican caucus appeared to weaken on Saturday. A group of eight Republican lawmakers issued a statement echoing Bevin’s concerns and calling for the ‘‘immediate resignation of all members involved in the confidential settlement.’’

Associated Press