Some Republicans called on Rep. Blake Farenthold to reimburse taxpayers for the full $84,000 settlement. | Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo Republicans divided on Farenthold resignation Speaker Ryan does not call for Texas Republican's resignation after news of taxpayer-funded sexual harassment settlement.

Speaker Paul Ryan and his conference’s top advocate on sexual harassment appear divided about whether Rep. Blake Farenthold should resign following news of his taxpayer-funded sexual harassment settlement.

Ryan will not call on the Texas Republican to resign following a POLITICO report that he used $84,000 in taxpayer funds to pay off an accuser, his office said Friday night — even though he has called for Democratic Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) to step aside over similar sexual harassment allegations.


But GOP Rep. Barbara Comstock (Va.), who’s led the charge for Republicans against sexual harassment on Capitol Hill, said through a spokesperson that Farenthold should step aside.

Comstock also called on Farenthold to reimburse taxpayers for the full $84,000 settlement and for both parties to waive their confidentiality agreement so they can testify about what happened.

"[H]e should pay back the money to the taxpayers," said Jeff Marschner, Comstock's deputy chief of staff. "The Congresswoman would welcome a waiving of the nondisclosure agreement so the parties can come forward, particularly since we have not heard from the woman involved directly as we have in other cases.”

Sign up here for POLITICO Huddle A daily play-by-play of congressional news in your inbox. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Asked if Comstock thought Farenthold should resign, Marschner answered: “Yes."

The different reactions are noteworthy: Ryan, through his spokeswoman AshLee Strong Friday night, noted that the Office of Congressional Ethics had investigated the allegations against Farenthold and found “no substantial reason to believe” the claims of Lauren Greene, the Texas Republican’s former communications director.

“The speaker talked to Rep. Farenthold earlier today,” said Strong. “The speaker has made clear any report of sexual harassment is deeply troubling, and those who feel mistreated or violated deserve to have their stories taken seriously.”

Strong added: “In this instance, the independent Office of Congressional Ethics investigated this claim and unanimously voted to dismiss it. Still, there are important questions to answer, including the use of taxpayer dollars for settlements. We will continue our efforts to reform this settlement system.”

In her lawsuit, Greene said another Farenthold aide told her the lawmaker said he had “sexual fantasies” and “wet dreams” about Greene. She also claimed that Farenthold “regularly drank to excess” and told her in February 2014 that he was “estranged from his wife and had not had sex with her in years.”

“Farenthold regularly drank to excess, and because of his tendency to flirt, the staffers who accompanied him to Capitol Hill functions would joke that they had to be on ‘red head patrol to keep him out of trouble,’” Greene’s complaint alleged. “On one occasion, prior to February 2014, during a staff meeting at which [Greene] was in attendance, Farenthold disclosed that a female lobbyist had propositioned him for a ‘threesome.’

When she complained about comments Farenthold and a male staffer made to her, Greene said the congressman improperly fired her. She filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, but the case was later dropped after both parties reached a private settlement. Neither Farenthold or Greene disclosed that taxpayer money was used to pay that settlement.

