Rep. Trent Franks resigns amid harassment claims

WASHINGTON—Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., announced Thursday evening he is resigning from Congress after the House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into accusations of sexual harassment. In a long written statement, Franks, who said he will step down on Jan. 31, said the accusations involve conversations he had with members of his staff about surrogacy, a process he and his wife used to conceive their children. “Given the nature of numerous allegations and reports across America in recent weeks, I want to first make one thing completely clear,” he wrote. “I have absolutely never physically intimidated, coerced, or had, or attempted to have, any sexual contact with any member of my congressional staff. However, I do want to take full and personal responsibility for the ways I have broached a topic that, unbeknownst to me until very recently, made certain individuals uncomfortable.” Rumors of “inappropriate behavior” circulated weeks before the announcement, according to Roll Call. The eight-term congressman, who first won election in 2002, served on the House Judiciary Committee and the House Armed Services Committee. He was also a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, a group that regularly presses GOP leaders to the right on fiscal and social issues. Several of his colleagues wrapped their arms around him to pray for him on the House floor Thursday afternoon as reports of his imminent announcement surfaced. Franks has been one of the strongest pro-life voices on Capitol Hill over the past decade and annually sponsors legislation to ban late-term abortions. He also helped pressure GOP leaders to reinstate the adoption credit in the tax bill last month when a first draft stripped it out. He serves a conservative district northwest of Phoenix, and in the 2016 presidential election, voters in that district favored Donald Trump by 26 percentage points. Franks won reelection last year by a 37-point margin.