The Arizona Republican, who is a vocal social conservative and author of numerous anti-abortion bills, told reporters on Thursday that he had never threatened or tried to have sexual contact with any member of his congressional staff.
However, he acknowledged discussing surrogacy issues with some of his female personnel.
According to media reports, some of Franks’ female aides were concerned that the staunch pro-life conservative was implying having sexual relations with his aides, as it was not clear whether he actually had in mind in vitro fertilization or sexual intercourse.
In his statement announcing his resignation on Friday, Franks said he and his wife have infertility problems.
His announcement came after House Speaker Paul Ryan threatened to refer the allegations to the US House Committee on Ethics and demanded that Franks tender his resignation.
READ MORE: US Lawmakers Move to End Taxpayer-Funded Sexual Harassment Settlements
Trent Franks is the third US lawmaker to announce his resignation this week. On Thursday, Senator Al Franken said he would resign amid a flurry of sexual misconduct allegations from eight women.
Congressman John Conyers resigned on Tuesday following numerous allegations of sexual harassment.
