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WASHINGTON — Conservative Arizona Republican Rep. Trent Franks is resigning from Congress, two GOP strategists said Thursday, the third lawmaker to announce his resignation this week.

Neither Republican operative said they knew why the eight-term Franks was leaving. His departure had not been expected, and one of the consultants said Franks was leaving on Thursday.

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Franks was seen being comforted in the chamber by several other Republicans shortly before he left the House floor. They included Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert, Alabama’s Robert Aderholt and fellow Arizonan Andy Biggs.

Asked for comment as he left the floor, Franks said, “I’ll let the statement speak for itself.” But by early Thursday evening, it was not clear what statement he was referencing.

Franks has been a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus. He’s a staunch social conservative who sponsored House-passed legislation to make it a crime for any person to perform an abortion if the age of the fetus is 20 weeks or more.