Access Politics
Even though the news keeps populating new names into the sex scandal narrative, people were still shocked when Representative Trent Franks resigned yesterday. Apparently, he and his wife have struggled with infertility, and have a set of twins through a surrogate. Here is part of his very unique resignation letter:
“Due to my familiarity and experience with the process of surrogacy, I clearly became insensitive as to how the discussion of such an intensely personal topic might affect others. I have recently learned that the Ethics Committee is reviewing an inquiry regarding my discussion of surrogacy with two previous female subordinates, making each feel uncomfortable,” he wrote. “I deeply regret that my discussion of this option and process in the workplace caused distress.”
Well, you don’t hear that excuse every day. Chris Cillizza sums up his reasoning:
1. He and his wife had problems conceiving and carrying a baby to term. (Franks notes in the statement his wife had three miscarriages.)2. Eventually they found a woman to be a surrogate. That woman gave birth to twins.3. He and his wife wanted more children. So did their kids. (“We continued to have a desire to have at least one additional sibling, for which our children had made repeated requests,” writes Franks.)4. He discussed the possibility of surrogacy with two women who worked for him.
Except that doesn’t quite make sense. Was this just a case of ill-advised conversations with subordinates? Or was it something more? Cillizza believes it was more:
Judging from the reaction by Speaker Paul Ryan — well, I’ll let you decide. Here’s a snippet from the statement from Ryan’s office about the whole thing:“Last Wednesday, the speaker was briefed on credible claims of misconduct by Rep. Trent Franks. He found the allegations to be serious and requiring action. The next day, the speaker presented Rep. Franks with the allegations, which he did not deny. … The speaker takes seriously his obligation to ensure a safe workplace in the House.”
Which makes this sentence in his resignation make more sense:
“Rather than allow a sensationalized trial by media damage those things I love most, this morning I notified House leadership that I will be leaving Congress as of January 31, 2018.”
This media cycle has never been weirder.
By Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America (Trent Franks) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
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