Who is Congressman Trent Franks? A Short Biography

Congressman Trent Franks served as a founder and CEO of Liberty Petroleum Corporation and currently serves as Chairman of the of Liberty Petroleum Corporation Board of Directors. Throughout his public service, he was never a professional politician, he was a small Business owner, being self-employed most of his life starting at 17 years old.

Trent has been married to his wife, Josephine, for 43 years. They have lived in the West Valley for nearly 40 years. They have been Members of North Phoenix Baptist Church for 41 years. Prior to the birth of their own very beloved children, Joshua and Emily, they worked as Sunday School teachers for the one and two-year-old children in the Preschool Department for nearly 22 years. Trent Franks was ordained “Deacon” by the North Phoenix Baptist Church in 1986.

TRENT IN US CONGRESS

Congressman Trent Franks is a Conservative Reagan Republican. He served seven terms in the United States Congress and has worked passionately all of his adult life to build a better future for all children and protecting America’s “first principles”: The God given rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness outlined in our Declaration of Independence, and our Nation’s core Constitutional foundations.

Congressman Franks Has a Proven Conservative Record throughout his 15 Years in Congress. Trent was repeatedly named among the very most consistently conservative members in all of Congress.

Trent would be returning to Congress with 15 years congressional seniority and possessing the priceless experience in Congress of having served in many critical positions previously.

Trent believes it was our Creator, not the hand of man or government, that gave all mankind the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and that government has a God-given responsibility to protect these rights for all members of the human family, regardless of their color, creed, religion, or station in life.

Trent believes that there will always be such a thing as the truth and that people and principles should be at the center of political discourse in America. He believes in personal responsibility, free enterprise and that government’s first purpose is to protect its innocent citizens.

Trent served as Chairman of the Constitution Subcommittee, Vice-Chairman of the Strategic [Nuclear] Forces Subcommittee, and as Vice-Chairman of the Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee. Trent was a senior member on both the House Judiciary Committee and the Armed Services Committee.

Trent was also a member of both the Budget Committee and the Small Business Committee.

He served as Chairman of the Orphans and Vulnerable Children Caucus the Congressional Caucus on Adoption, the Missile Defense Caucus, and the Electromagnetic Pulse Caucus. Congressman Franks was widely recognized as one of the very most knowledgeable leaders in Congress on Missile-Defense and EMP related issues.

He served as a Member of the Republican Study Committee, the House Working Group on Judicial Accountability, House Working Group on Waste, Fraud and Abuse, the Congressional Hispanic Conference, the Liberty Caucus, the DUI Caucus, the Human Rights Caucus, the India Caucus, the Refugee Caucus, the Adoption Caucus, the Education Freedom Caucus, and was one of the earliest members of the Freedom Caucus in Congress.

He successfully sponsored amendments in the Armed Services Committee to mandate the building of the critical space-based missile-defense layer currently under development to protect America from incoming intercontinental ballistic nuclear missiles.

Congressman Franks was the Prime Sponsor of the Critical Infrastructure Protection Act. This first of its kind legislation was especially vital in that it provided and mandated a framework to protect the nation’s electric power grid against naturally occurring and weaponized electromagnetic pulse. President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order to expedite the implementation of this crucial legislation and protecting the nation against EMP.

Trent also served as Chairman of the EIS world Summit on Electric Infrastructure Security. He is recognized as one of the world’s foremost experts on national policy to protect civilian electric grids and critical electric networks against natural and weaponized electromagnetic interference and electromagnetic pulse.

Trent is a relentless advocate of Israel and served as Chairman of the Congressional Israel Allies Caucus and was heavily involved in advocating and securing support for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system as well as maintaining America’s partnership in building the David’s Sling (Stunner) intermediate interceptor and the Arrow 3 long-range interceptor to protect Israel from a nuclear armed enemy like Iran. This effort helped to improve America’s own missile defense capability.

TRENT IN THE STATE LEGISLATURE

Trent is also a past Member of the Arizona House of Representatives. While in the Arizona House, he served as Chairman of the House Sub-Committee on Child Protection and Family Preservation and Vice-Chairman of the House Commerce Committee. He was a high-profile sponsor of numerous bills designed to protect the family including the “Maternal and Fetal Health Bill”, the “Child Obscenity and Pornography Bill” (which survived major challenges in the U.S. Federal District Courts) and the “Dangerous Crimes Against Children Bill”; all of which became nationally recognized. 

At 27 years old, while in the legislature, Trent received the “Conservative Leadership Award” For his “Conservative and Constitutional Legislative Voting Record”. Trent’s 98% rating was the highest in the Arizona Legislature at the time.

Because of his lifelong commitment to Children and Children’s issues, Trent Franks was later nominated “Children’s Champion” by Arizona State Legislators.

When he was 29 years old, Trent was appointed by Arizona’s Governor to head the Arizona Governor’s Office for Children, which is a Cabinet level division of the Governor’s office responsible for overseeing and coordinating state policy and programs for Arizona’s children. He was extensively involved in promoting conservative legislation to protect Arizona’s children in that office. He was also Chairman of the Arizona State Children’s Cabinet as well as Chairman of the Inter-Agency Study Committee on Children and AIDS. 

Trent founded and served four and a half years as the Executive Director of the Arizona Family Research Institute, a non-profit organization associated with Dr. James Dobson’s Focus on the Family for the purpose of advocating public policy to protect children and families in Arizona. The Arizona Family Research Institute later became the Center for Arizona Policy.

Trent Franks is also past Chairman of the Children’s Hope Scholarship Foundation which was founded to promote and protect the landmark Scholarship Tax Credit legislation which Trent authored and became the principal proponent of its successful passage. It has now survived three different challenges in the United States Supreme Court and become one of the nation’s most important cutting-edge school choice initiatives. The Scholarship Tax Credit has now been used to fund, from private sources, more than three quarters of a million scholarships for mostly low-income children in 20 states to a school of their parent’s choice.

OPERATION SMILE

Trent, who was born with a cleft palate himself, has been a dedicated supporter of Operation Smile for decades, helping children in America and all around the world who suffer from facial deformities. Trent has even traveled to other nations with Operation Smile, including participating in the Iraq initiative, to assist in providing corrective surgeries for dozens of children with cleft palate and lip.

In addition, Trent successfully advocated for provisions in the medical diplomacy legislation in Congress to include efforts to assist children in America and globally in obtaining corrective surgeries for cleft and other facial deformities. This not only helped children in need but also provided America with valuable diplomatic capital and credibility with other nations.

Trent has also been an active speaker at Shriners events, supporting their work on behalf of children with cleft and other orthopedic conditions. He has spoken at numerous Shriners fundraising events, helping children’s hospitals in Arizona and across the United States. Furthermore, Trent has played a significant role in Operation Smile’s efforts, including traveling to Jordan and Iraq to help children with cleft disorders receive the corrective surgeries they need.