Under Fire For Alleged Sexual Harassment, Texas Rep. Blake Farenthold Resigns

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Embattled Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, announced Friday that he has resigned from Congress, months after reports surfaced that he had used taxpayer money to settle a sexual harassment claim by a former staffer.

"While I planned on serving out the remainder of my term in Congress, I know in my heart it's time for me to move along and look for new ways to serve," the four-term congressman said in a statement.

Farenthold had already announced he wouldn't seek re-election and had pledged to pay back the $84,000 he used to settle the claim, but he had hedged on that promise as of late, according to CNN. Farenthold was also facing a House Ethics Committee investigation into allegations of sexual harassment.

Farenthold's office did not respond to inquires about whether he had repaid the settlement money, but, in a statement, National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, urged the outgoing representative to do so.

"I hope Blake is true to his word and pays back the $84,000 of taxpayer money he used as a settlement," Stivers said. "As I have said repeatedly, Congress must hold ourselves to a higher standard and regain the trust of the American people."

Politico first reported in December that Lauren Greene, Farenthold's former communications director, had sued him in December 2014 for gender discrimination, sexual harassment, creating a hostile work environment and wrongful termination. According to Greene, another co-worker had said Farenthold said he had "sexual fantasies" and "wet dreams" about her and had told Greene that he was "estranged from his wife and had not had sex with her in years." When she complained about the comments, she was fired. Greene filed a lawsuit, but that was dropped after a private settlement was reached through the Congress' Office of Compliance.

Another male former staffer also detailed to CNN how the congressman was verbally abusive and created a hostile work environment, frequently using profanity and making vulgar sexual comments. Farenthold denied he had used some of the crude sexual language the staffer described. He did admit he used profanity in referring to some aides but said it was "in jest, not in anger."

The Corpus Christi-area seat he represents is a solidly Republican district that voted for President Trump by 24 points. A Republican source familiar with the situation said it's unlikely a special election will be called.

Farenthold was first elected in the Tea Party wave of 2010, defeating Democratic Rep. Solomon Ortiz. Redistricting before the 2012 cycle made the once-competitive district much redder, and Farenthold hadn't faced a serious re-election threat since.</s>U.S. Representative Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, resigned from Congress on Friday. The lawmaker had previously announced that he would not be seeking re-election following multiple allegations of sexual harassment, misconduct and inappropriate behavior.</s>WASHINGTON — Rep. Blake Farenthold announced Friday that he has resigned from Congress, months after details surfaced about his use of $84,000 in taxpayer funds to settle a sexual harassment claim lodged by a former employee. His resignation was effective at 5 p.m. ET Friday.

"While I planned on serving out the remainder of my term in Congress, I know in my heart it's time for me to move along and look for new ways to serve,” the Texas Republican said in a statement. "Therefore, I sent a letter to Governor Greg Abbott today resigning from the House of Representatives effective at 5:00 p.m. today, April 6, 2018."

Farenthold had previously said he would retire from Congress at the end of the year. He has represented Texas’s 27th Congressional District since 2011.</s>Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani are the picture of happiness, and might just skip out on an engagement to run off and tie the knot. We’ve got the EXCLUSIVE details.

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While Blake was in the chair at Above & Beyond Dental in Bedford, dentist Dr. Gemma Dalton began a multi-month dental plan for him, and while sedated... Blake... did what Blake does... lol!

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If Blake can ever figure out exactly what he was saying, he'll add subtitles... haha!

How many would like to see Blake on Nitrous oxide? LOL!</s>The Texas Republican Blake Farenthold resigned from Congress on Friday.

Farenthold had announced in January that he would not seek re-election after allegations of sexual misconduct.

In a statement released on Friday, he said: “While I planned on serving out the remainder of my term in Congress, I know in my heart it’s time for me to move along and look for new ways to serve.”



Farenthold faced scrutiny over his failure to reimburse taxpayers for an $84,000 settlement with a former staffer who alleged he told her about “wet dreams” and “sexual fantasies” he had about her. Those and other alleged sexual comments were detailed in a 2014 lawsuit.

In a statement, Steve Stivers, head of the National Republican Campaign Committee, said: “I hope Blake is true to his word and pays back the $84,000 of taxpayer money he used as a settlement. As I have said repeatedly, Congress must hold ourselves to a higher standard and regain the trust of the American people.”

Farenthold, who was first elected in 2010, is the latest member of Congress to leave over allegations of sexual misconduct. Senator Al Franken of Minnesota and Congressman Trent Franks of Arizona also resigned their positions. Others including Rubén Kihuen of Nevada have said they will retire in November.

Farenthold has a long history of making controversial remarks. In 2016, he said in an interview he might still support Donald Trump if Trump endorsed rape. Last year, he said he might challenge female senators to duels – if not for their gender.</s>Sign up for The Brief to get the latest 2018 Texas election news in your inbox. Click here for full primary election results.

The decision marks the capstone of a tumultuous few months for the four-term congressman, who has been dogged by sexual harassment allegations and an ongoing ethics investigation.

"While I planned on serving out the remainder of my term in Congress, I know in my heart it's time for me to move along and look for new ways to serve," he said in a statement that offered no further explanation for why he was not completing the final eight months of his term.

The congressman spent the day packing up his office.

He previously announced his retirement in December, a move that created an open-seat race to succeed him. Former Texas Water Board Development Chairman Bech Bruun and former Victoria GOP Chairman Michael Cloud are in a Republican runoff to replace him in the two-year term beginning next January. Two Democrats, Roy Barrera and Eric Holguin, are in their own primary runoff for the seat.

Gov. Greg Abbott now needs to call a special election to fill the seat, the winner of which will serve until early January 2019.

Abbott has two options for filling Farenthold's seat for the rest of his term, according to the secretary of state's office. Abbott can schedule a special election on the next uniform election date, which is Nov. 6. (It's too late for him to call it for the May 5 date.)

Abbott's other option is to order an emergency election for any other Tuesday or Saturday. He would have to call the election 36-50 days in advance of the date he chooses.

House Republicans likely have no appetite for a special election at this point in the cycle. But one thing the governor's office will have to weigh is whether Texas' 27th Congressional District — which bore the brunt of Hurricane Harvey — can go without congressional representation for seven months.

In 2014, Lauren Greene, Farenthold's former communications director, sued the congressman alleging gender discrimination, sexual harassment and a hostile work environment. Both parties agreed to drop the case in 2015, but the terms of the settlement were not clear at the time. Last year, Politico reported that the little-known Office of Compliance had covered an $84,000 settlement to Greene in that case. Farenthold at first pledged to reimburse the federal government for the settlement cost but later became more circumspect about when he would do so.

But even members of his own party are pushing Farenthold to make good on that earlier pledge. Within minutes of Farenthold announcing his resignation Friday, U.S. Rep. Steve Stivers of Ohio, who chairs the National Republican Congressional Committee, raised the issue in a pointed statement.

“I thank Blake Farenthold for his service in Congress,” Stivers said. “I hope Blake is true to his word and pays back the $84,000 of taxpayer money he used as a settlement. As I have said repeatedly, Congress must hold ourselves to a higher standard and regain the trust of the American people."

Farenthold, meanwhile, faces an investigation by the U.S. House Ethics Committee over the harassment allegations, along with questions about whether he used official resources for his re-election and if he made false statements to the committee.

Farenthold first came to Congress in 2011, after winning a stunning race against now-former U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz, a Democrat. His re-election from then on was essentially assured when the Republican-led legislature dramatically redrew his 27th District and made it far more GOP-friendly.

Farenthold served on the Oversight and Government Reform, Judiciary and Transportation U.S House Committees.

Reached Friday evening, Bruun, one of two Republicans vying to replace Farenthold next year, declined to say whether he would run in a potential special election.

"I remain focused on the May 22nd run-off election," Bruun said. "I believe the people of Congressional District 27 need conservative, effective representation now more than ever, which is the primary reason I entered this race. I'm hopeful that Congressman Farenthold will honor his promise to repay the $84,000 owed to taxpayers so that we can close this chapter and focus on issues that matter most to the constituents of Congressional District 27."
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• At the Texas Capitol, victims of sexual harassment must fend for themselves</s>WASHINGTON — Rep. Blake Farenthold announced Friday that he has resigned from Congress, months after details surfaced about his use of $84,000 in taxpayer funds to settle a sexual harassment claim lodged by a former employee.

"While I planned on serving out the remainder of my term in Congress, I know in my heart it's time for me to move along and look for new ways to serve,” the Texas Republican said in a statement. "Therefore, I sent a letter to Governor Greg Abbott today resigning from the House of Representatives effective at 5:00 p.m. today, April 6, 2018."

It's unclear what suddenly prompted him to leave Washington. His official Twitter account appeared to have been deleted as of Friday afternoon.</s>Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-TX) abruptly resigned Friday afternoon, listing his legislative accomplishments and saying that he knows “in his heart that it is time to move along.”

Back in December, Farenthold decided not to run for reelection when his term would have been up in January 2019 following a series of damning allegations regarding his discrimination and rage in the workplace.

Shortly after the news broke that he had paid $84,000 in taxpayers’ money to settle a claim with former staffer Lauren Greene when she charged him with sexual harassment and gender discrimination, the House Ethics Committee opened up an investigation prompted by a different former staffer’s complaint of widespread verbal abuse and sexual harassment in the office.

Farenthold vowed to pay back the misused money, but still has not done so. National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Steve Stivers released a statement calling for the repayment after Farenthold’s resignation.

“I hope Blake is true to his word and pays back the $84,000 of taxpayer money he used as a settlement,” Stivers wrote. “As I have said repeatedly, Congress must hold ourselves to a higher standard and regain the trust of the American people.”</s>U.S. Representative Blake Farenthold resigned from Congress on Friday, following multiple allegations of sexual harassment, misconduct and inappropriate behavior.

Farenthold, R-Texas, had previously announced that he would not seek re-election in the 2018 midterm election, when reports of sexual misconduct first surfaced.

“While I planned on serving out the remainder of my term in Congress, I know in my heart it’s time for me to move along and look for new ways to serve,” Farenthold said in a statement Friday evening, noting he sent a letter to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to tell him about his resignation, effective at 5 p.m.

“It’s been an honor and privilege to serve the constituents of Texas’ 27th Congressional District. I would like to thank my staff both in Washington and Texas for all of their hard work on behalf of our constituents. I would also like to thank my family for their unwavering support and most importantly the people that elected me,” Farenthold said. “Leaving my service in the House, I’m able to look back at the entirety of my career in public office and say that it was well worthwhile.”

Farenthold was sued by his former aide, Lauren Greene, in 2014, alleging a hostile work environment, gender discrimination and retaliation. Among other things, Greene claimed Farenthold asked her for a threesome. She sued him and was paid $84,000 from a public fund on behalf of Farenthold for a sexual harassment claim.

Farenthold pledged to repay the $84,000 in taxpayer money spent to settle the claim.

Farenthold’s former communications director, Michael Rekola, also described in detail the congressman’s alleged abusive behavior toward staff members, which ranged from making sexually graphic jokes to verbally abusing his aides.

Other staffers accused Farenthold of routinely commenting on the size of women’s breasts and making jokes about being on “redhead patrol” because he was attracted to women with red hair.

Fox News' Chad Pergram and Barnini Chakraborty contributed to this report.
U.S. Representative Blake Farenthold announces his resignation from Congress.