WASHINGTON: Republican lawmaker Trent Franks abruptly resigned from Congress today as he faced an ethics probe over sexual misconduct, with US media reporting that female subordinates worried he wanted to have sex with them.
Franks, an eight-term lawmaker from Arizona, had announced a day earlier that he would be stepping down from the House of Representatives on January 31.
In that statement, Franks, a conservative Republican opposed to abortion rights, said he never physically intimidated, coerced or attempted to have any sexual contact with any member of his congressional staff. Instead, he says, the dispute resulted from a discussion of surrogacy. Franks and his wife have 3-year-old twins who were conceived through surrogacy.
But he did not provide details about the discussions with the two female staffers.
In a new statement today, he said he was vacating his seat in Congress immediately, US media reported.
Politico, citing congressional sources with knowledge of the complaint against Franks, reported explosive accusations from two female subordinates.
Franks approached the staffers about acting as a potential surrogate for him and his wife -- Franks says he and his wife have struggled with fertility for years.
The women, according to the sources, were concerned that the congressman was asking to have sex with them, and that it was unclear whether he was asking about the prospect of impregnating them through sexual intercourse or in vitro fertilization, Politico reported.
The news outlet said Franks denies all of the accusations, according to a spokesman.
House Speaker Paul Ryan was told of the misconduct allegations on November 29, his office said, adding that Ryan believed the accusations were "credible" and that he told Franks he should resign.
Ryan's office declined to comment on the latest accusations, or Franks's immediate resignation.
The scandal comes as sexual harassment allegations have engulfed Capitol Hill.
Franks is the third member of Congress this week -- following House Democrat John Conyers and Senate Democrat Al Franken -- to announce his resignation in the wake of sexual misconduct accusations.