Roll Call is reporting that Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) will step down from his seat in the near future.
NEWS: Arizona GOP Rep. Trent Franks expected to resign https://t.co/O7vSvMJxfx w/ @lindsemcpherson
— Bridget Bowman (@bridgetbhc) December 7, 2017
According to Roll Call, there are unspecified rumors about Franks' "inappropriate behavior." Franks told Roll Call that he would make a statement on Thursday evening, that will "explain" things. Notably, Franks neither confirmed nor denied that he was going to resign.
From Roll Call:
Arizona Republican Trent Franks is expected to resign from Congress, a source with knowledge told Roll Call.
The congressman did not confirm or deny any plans to resign. Franks said he expected to make a statement Thursday.
“We will have a statement a little bit later, but that’s all I can tell you right now,” Franks told Roll Call. “The statement will explain.”
It is unclear exactly why Franks is stepping down, but one Arizona Republican said there had been rumors of inappropriate behavior. The Republican said the congressman had apparently been making plans to run for Senate in 2012, but abruptly canceled those plans.
Franks was first elected to Congress in 2002 and was reelected in 2016 by a 37-point margin. He lives in a very reliably Republican district.
Obviously, this news (if true) is incredibly shocking and came out of relatively nowhere compared to Sen. Al Franken's high-profile resignation earlier on Thursday.
This post will be updated with Franks' statement, if he eventually releases one.