Rep. Trent Franks announced Thursday night that he will be resigning his seat, reports the Washington Post, after House officials learned he’d asked two female employees to be surrogates and bear his child.
His announcement of resignation came right after the House Ethics Committee announced it would create a subcommittee in order to investigate Franks for conduct “that constitutes sexual harassment and/or retaliation for opposing sexual harassment.” Franks’ resignation on Jan. 31 will end the ethics investigation.
According to Franks’ statement, the investigation is about his “discussion of surrogacy with two previous female subordinates, making each feel uncomfortable.”
That’s about the clearest the statement gets, however, and leaves the exact details of how and why he decided it would be appropriate to ask whether two separate women would bear his children. Three Republicans who are familiar with the events around the allegations said both women worked for Franks, but have since left the office. The Post says a spokesman for Franks did not respond to that claim when asked for a comment.
Franks maintains in his statement that he never “physically intimidated, coerced, or had, or attempted to have, any sexual contact with any member of my congressional staff.” He does regret if he made anyone “uncomfortable” or caused any “distress.”
House Ethics Cmte now investigating Trent Franks, who reportedly asked two female staffers to be a surrogate for his child. (??) pic.twitter.com/81o2rCx9N8
— Jennifer Bendery (@jbendery) December 7, 2017
He explains that he asked because he and his wife have had a very long struggle with infertility. They previously had twins with a surrogate and were seeking additional children — which may serve as “explanation” (not an excuse) for why he asked.
When asked, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan’s office put out a statement Thursday that Ryan (R-Wis) had been briefed last week on the “credible claims of misconduct” by Franks. This was after the House general counsel received word about the allegations and started to look into them. Ryan approached Franks about the claims, and when Franks did not deny them, he told him he should resign and that he would refer the investigation to the House Ethics Committee. “The speaker takes seriously his obligation to ensure a safe workplace in the House,” the statement said.
Franks will be the first Republican to leave his post amid the growing number of accusations of sexual misconduct against politicians.
He has been in the House since 2003 and is known for his deeply conservative actions. He is especially known for his stance on abortion, recently backing a bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks that passed the House. He also finds the filibuster rule in the Senate to be frustrating, and has blamed it for blocking conservative bills. Franks is also a member of the House Freedom Caucus, which is a hard-right group that has often butted heads with other Republican leaders.
The Franks statement came shortly after Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) announced he would resign his seat “in the coming weeks” in response to numerous allegations of sexual misconduct. The House Ethics Committee also opened a separate probe into the alleged misconduct of Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Tex.) Thursday. However, Farenthold’s allegations come from an investigation that was delayed in 2015.
According to Arizona state law, a special election must be held if a vacancy occurs more than six months before a scheduled election. According to several Arizona GOP operatives, potential Republican successors for Franks include Kimberly Yee, the Senate Majority leader who is currently running for state treasurer, and Phil Lovas, a former state representative.