[3] Franks had repeatedly asked two female staffers to bear his children as surrogate mothers, and allegedly offered one of them $5 million to carry his child and retaliated against her when she declined.

[4][7] Franks acknowledged discussing surrogacy with the aides but denied the other allegations; he resigned from Congress immediately after the ethics investigation was announced, blaming his situation on "the current cultural and media climate".

[15] Franks campaigned on a conservative "Reagan Republican" platform emphasizing stronger child protection laws as well as the overturning of Roe v.

In the state legislature, Franks served as Vice-Chairman of the Commerce Committee and Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Child Protection and Family Preservation.

In 1992, when Franks was chairman of Arizonans for Common Sense, one of the organization's efforts was a constitutional amendment on the November 1992 ballot to "protect most preborn children in Arizona from abortion on demand".

Later that year, Franks, became the original author and leading proponent of the successful passage of the Tuition Tax Credit Bill in Arizona.

[21] That year, Franks also worked as a consultant and surrogate speaker for conservative activist Pat Buchanan's presidential campaign.

Franks ran for Arizona's 4th congressional district in 1994, after incumbent U.S. Representative Jon Kyl decided to run for the U.S. Senate.

[34] For his first five terms, Franks represented a vast district encompassing most of northwestern Arizona from the West Valley to the California border, including Lake Havasu City and the Grand Canyon.

However, due to longstanding disputes between the Hopi and Navajo, it had long been believed the two tribes should be in separate districts.

He again faced no Democratic opponent in the general election, and defeated Arizona Green Party nominee Mark Salazar 68.5%–31.5%.

[44][non-primary source needed] On October 14, 2009, Franks joined with three other members of Congress in calling for the investigation of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) over allegations of trying to plant "spies" based on a CAIR memo indicating that the group planned to "develop national initiatives such as Lobby day" and place "Muslim interns in Congressional offices."

[45] CAIR countered that these initiatives are extensively used by all advocacy groups and accused Franks and his colleagues of intending to intimidate American Muslims who "take part in the political process and exercise their rights.

[citation needed] In 2009, Franks signed a pledge sponsored by Americans for Prosperity promising to vote against any global warming legislation that would raise taxes.

[52] In a 2010 interview, discussing the legacy of slavery which Franks described as a "crushing mark on America's soul", the congressman said, "Half of all black children are aborted.

[60] Franks presided over a hearing to ban abortions after 20 weeks in the District of Columbia, in which he did not allow D.C.'s lone delegate and Member of Congress, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, to testify.

[62] In the past, Franks has picketed abortion clinics but has ceased to do so stating in a June 2013 interview that "It became clear to me that I could be more effective by trying to do something to light a candle rather than curse the darkness.

"[62] During the 2008 campaign, Franks stated that he is skeptical about global warming and other commonly accepted theories supported by the scientific community.

[67] In December 2017, two of Franks' former aides accused him of sexually harassing them by pushing them to serve as surrogate mothers for his wife.

While he denied the other allegations, he stated that "the current cultural and media climate" made a fair hearing impossible, and was resigning to prevent harm to "those things I love most.

When the aide was ready to come forward, Lafferty arranged a meeting with staffers from House Speaker Paul Ryan's office.

[73] According to a statement from Ryan, his general counsel interviewed the ex-aide on November 28, during which she mentioned the second aide's claims of misconduct.

In his statement, Ryan said that he found the aides' claims "credible," and acted in accordance with his duty to ensure "a safe workplace in the House.

Representative Tom McClintock (R-CA) was opposed to the bill because it would hurt job creation and break a promise to the Tohono O'odham tribe.

[80] Tohono O’odham Nation Chairman Ned Norris Jr. objected to the bill because it is "special interest legislation" that creates a "no-competition zone" for the two tribes that already have casinos in that area.

Gregory Mendoza, who was in favor of the bill because he believes that the compact not to build more casinos needs to be respected.