He is a former Member of the Arizona State House of Representatives, where he was Chairman of the Subcommittee on Child Protection and Family Preservation. He was a high-profile sponsor of numerous bills designed to protect the family, including the "Child Obscenity and Pornography Bill" (which survived major challenges in the U.S. Federal District Court,) and the "Dangerous Crimes Against Children Bill." Both became nationally recognized.

Trent later oversaw all of Arizona’s state programs for children when he became the Cabinet-level Director of the Arizona Governor’s Office for Children. This office is the equivalent of the Department for Children in other states. 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 Executive Director of the Arizona Family Research Institute, a non-profit organization associated with Dr. James Dobson's Focus on the Family, where he further sought to advocate and advance public policy to protect children and families in Arizona.

Congressman Franks is serving his fourth term in the United States Congress, representing the Second District of Arizona. He serves on the Armed Services Committee and the Judiciary Committee, where he is the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Commercial Law and Administration. He is an active member of the Republican Study Committee and is an Executive Committee Member of the Tom Lantos Congressional Human Rights Commission, co-founder and co-chairman of the International Religious Freedom Caucus. Congressman Franks also serves on a host of task force and caucus groups, including the House Working Group on Judicial Accountability, the Education Freedom Caucus, the House Working Group on Waste, Fraud and Abuse, the Liberty Caucus, the Human Rights Caucus, the India Caucus, the Anti-Terrorism Caucus, and is co-founder of the Israel Allies Caucus (IAC).

Trent has worked tirelessly in an effort to protect the innocent at every stage of life. He has dedicated himself to children’s issues, and is passionate in his commitment to protect all human life, including that of the unborn.

Congressman Franks’ longstanding record marks an unswerving commitment to providing parental empowerment and educational choice for families. In 1997, he authored and advocated the Arizona Scholarship Tax Credit. This incredibly successful program has helped provide over 142,000 scholarships for children in its 9 year history.

In order to build on this success, Congressman Franks introduced the Children's Hope Act in the U.S. Congress, legislation that would encourage states to create their own scholarship tax credit by providing an additional federal credit for individuals who participate in a state scholarship tax credit of $250 or more. Congressman Franks has received numerous honors since his arrival in Washington, including the Family Research Council's "True Blue Award," given to those who have "demonstrated extraordinary integrity and character in their defense of the family and the sanctity of human life...and hold perfect voting records on issues of importance to the American family," the "Guardian of Seniors' Rights Award" from the 60 Plus Association, the "Achievement Award" from the Seniors Coalition, and the "Spirit of Enterprise" award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

He has also received numerous awards reflecting his commitment to limited government and a smaller tax burden. Some of these include the "Taxpayer’s Friend" award by the National Taxpayers Union for the fourth consecutive year, "for consistently voting to promote economic freedom and reduce the burden of the American Taxpayer," the "Defender of Economic Freedom Award" from the Club for Growth, ranking among the top five most taxpayer-friendly Members of Congress, the "Tax Fighter Award" (100% rating) from the National Tax Limitation Committee, "Taxpayer Hero" by the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste, and was named a "Small Business Advocate" by Americans for Tax Reform. He has received the "Thomas Jefferson Award" from the Food Industry, 2004's "Lawmaker of the Year" by Independent Electrical Contractors, Inc., "Champion of Property Rights" (100% rating) by the League of Private Property Voters, "Friend of Farm Bureau" by the American Farm Bureau Federation, and the "Legislative the "Constituent Communication Award" from National Write Your Congressman, a "Presidential Citation" from the President of the Philippines Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and he received the "Friend of Education Award" from the Education Freedom Coalition.

Congressman Franks and his wife Josephine have been married since 1980. They live in Peoria with their children, Joshua and Emily, and are members of North Phoenix Baptist Church.