Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX) has not cast a vote since July despite the House of Representatives holding many important votes in that time, spurring speculation as to where she has been.
Granger, 81, who is retiring at the end of this Congress after serving since 1997, was last seen on Capitol Hill in November during the unveiling of a portrait in her honor for the House Appropriations Committee. About a month later, she did not vote on the pivotal spending bill to keep the government open, and citizens in her district wondered why that was.
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The Dallas Express reported that the Texas Republican had been found at a memory care unit and assisted living home, saying they received a tip from a constituent. The outlet claims it confirmed with two employees of the assisted living facility that Granger lived there, adding video evidence, but they were unable to reach the congresswoman directly.
Granger’s office denied that the congresswoman was in memory care to the Washington Examiner and shared a lengthy statement from Granger.
“I am deeply grateful for the outpouring of care and concern over the past several days,” Granger said. “As many of my family, friends, and colleagues have known, I have been navigating some unforeseen health challenges over the past year.”
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“However, since early September, my health challenges have progressed making frequent travel to Washington both difficult and unpredictable. During this time, my staff has remained steadfast, continuing to deliver exceptional constituent services, as they have for the past 27 years,” she added.
Granger also confirmed in the statement that she returned to Washington, D.C., in November to “hold meetings on behalf of my constituents, express my gratitude to my staff, and oversee the closure of my Washington office.”
“It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve the city of Fort Worth—as a city council member, as mayor, and as a Member of Congress,” Granger added. “Thank you for your continued prayers and support that you have extended to me.”
Granger was the first Republican woman to chair the powerful House Appropriations Committee, but she suddenly stepped down from the position in March, with Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) replacing her as the chairman shortly after.
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“As I reflect on my time in the House of Representatives and more than five years as Ranking Member and now Chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, I realize I have accomplished more than I ever could have imagined,” Granger wrote in her March letter stepping down from the position.
Her absences from D.C. and the report on her whereabouts have caused some officials to share concern, with Texas Republican Executive Committee Rolando Garcia calling it a “sad and humiliating way to end her political career.”
“The fact that Kay Granger is unable to leave her nursing home to participate in the most important congressional vote of the year suggests she was already in visible decline when she ran for re-election in 2022,” Garcia said in a post on X.
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Other members have also faced scrutiny in recent years over staying in office. The late-Sen. Dianne Feinstein had mounting questions over her age and mental fitness in the last years of her life, with several of her fellow members of Congress calling on her to resign before the end of her term. Feinstein died in September 2023, more than a year before the end of her final term.
Rep. Dwight Evans (D-PA) suffered a stroke in May and has not voted in the chamber since then, but he still won reelection last month for another term. Evans said in a statement that he would return to the chamber next month for the new Congress, brushing off concerns over his recovery from the “minor stroke.”
