On January 8, 2018, Hoover resigned as speaker of the Kentucky House, after initially announcing the resignation in November 2017. While announcing the resignation, he continued to deny that he had sexually harassed a female staffer, saying that he had sent inappropriate text messages. He also said that Gov. Matt Bevin (R) did not speak truthfully about his relationship with the staffer when he said it was sexual and that other unnamed individuals associated with the legislature had betrayed him. He said would continue to serve as a state representative. On November 1, 2017, the Courier Journal reported that Hoover had settled a sexual harassment claim brought by a female staffer. Other members of the House Republican leadership announced on November 4 that they would hire a law firm to investigate Hoover's settlement. That same day, Gov. Bevin said that any elected officials or state employee who had settled a sexual harassment claim should resign their position immediately.

See also: Sexual assault and harassment in American politics (2017-2018) Jeffrey Hoover was mentioned during a wave of sexual assault and misconduct allegations in 2017 and 2018. On November 1, 2017, the Courier Journal reported that Hoover had settled a sexual harassment claim brought by a female staffer. On November 4, other members of the House Republican leadership announced that they would hire a law firm to investigate Hoover's settlement. Also on November 4, Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R) said that any elected officials or state employee who had settled a sexual harassment claim should resign their position immediately. Hoover announced his resignation as speaker of the House on November 5, saying that a settlement had been reached on October 25. He said he had sent inappropriate, but consensual, texts to a female staffer. After Hoover announced his resignation, the House Republicans said the investigation by the law firm would continue. On November 6, the FBI said it was looking into sexual harassment and retaliation possibly related to the Hoover incident. According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, these claims could have been related to the demotion of House Republican Communications Director Daisy Olivo, who said she was relieved of her duty of speaking to the press after she reported what she said was a “toxic work environment” in the House Republican leadership office to the Legislative Research Commission. On January 2, 2018, Hoover reversed his decision and chose not to resign. Speaker Pro Tempore David Osborne assumed Hoover's duties while the Legislative Ethics Commission conducted an investigation of the allegations. On January 8, Hoover made his resignation as speaker of the Kentucky House official. After announcing his resignation in November 2017, he had been reconsidering whether to leave his leadership position and eventually decided to do so. He continued to deny that he had sexually harassed a female staffer, saying that he had sent inappropriate text messages. He also said that Gov. Bevin did not speak truthfully about his relationship with the staffer when he said it was sexual and that other unnamed individuals associated with the legislature had betrayed him. He said would continue to serve as a state representative. On January 10, the Kentucky House voted 90-0 to abolish a procedural rule that would have allowed a committee of lawmakers to investigate requests for the expulsion of lawmakers. The rule had originally passed on January 2, the day before a group of eight Republicans requested that Jeff Hoover be expelled from the chamber. The members were Addia Wuchner, Kim King, Russell Webber, Stan Lee, Robert J. Benvenuti III, Phil Moffett, Tim Moore, and Joe Fischer. Speaker Pro Tempore Osborne said that the original vote had been a mistake and that he and Democratic leader Rocky Adkins had decided that the Legislative Ethics Committee should have jurisdiction over the investigation of Hoover.