Alex Edelman/ZUMA
On Thursday, Arizona Republican Rep. Trent Franks announced he would resign in January. In a statement, the social-conservative warrior admitted that he had previously asked two female members of his staff to carry his child as surrogates. Frank conceded that this had made those staffers uncomfortable, but his statement left the impression that there was probably a bit more to the story, and on Friday we found out what it was: the congressman offered to pay $5 million for the surrogacy. According to Politico, the staffers Frank propositioned also feared he wanted to impregnate them himself.
MORE COMING from me & @JakeSherman: These ex-staffers got the impression Franks may have wanted to impregnate them via intercourse… https://t.co/XXgKQ6VL5l
— Rachael Bade (@rachaelmbade) December 8, 2017
Shortly before the Politico story dropped, Franks announced that he would, in fact, be resigning immediately. Congress will lose one of its most ardent anti-abortion crusaders, and Phoenix-area residents will have themselves a special election next year. If you’re keeping track, that’s four retirements or resignations related to sexual misconduct in one week in Washington.