Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), who initially announced that he would be resigning at the end of January, has rendered his resignation effective immediately amid rumors that the lawmaker offered a former staffer $5 million to carry his child.
According to the Associated Press, Franks bowed to pressure from House Speaker Paul Ryan, who reportedly told Franks that he was forwarding the scathing allegations to the ethics committee.
Franks reportedly harassed the woman asking some four times if she’d be willing to carry his child for a fee. In a bizarre resignation speech, Franks noted that he and his wife struggled with conceiving a child on their own and noted that they had been blessed with twins. Unable to conceive another child, they considered the idea of surrogacy. Franks’ purposefully vague resignation letter made it sound as if he only talked about his family’s struggles with a staffer, leaving out that he actually propositioned the woman.
“Last night, my wife was admitted to the hospital in Washington, D.C. due to an ongoing ailment,” Franks wrote in a statement noting why his resignation was now effective immediately. “After discussing options with my family, we came to the conclusion that the best thing for our family now would be for me to tender my previous resignation effective today, December 8th, 2017.”
Read more at the Associated Press.