Rep. Kay Granger, R-T.X., has been found living in a senior care home after effectively going missing for six months.
The 81-year-old lawmaker, who hasn’t cast a vote since July, reportedly lives in a $4,000-monthly senior living facility while drawing her $174,000 Congressional salary and maintaining a staff payroll exceeding $1 million annually.
Granger has been living at Tradition Senior Living in Fort Worth, a nursing home facility offering 24-hour concierge service, movie theater, indoor pool, and group exercise classes. Her son Brandon has disputed reports about her living in memory care while she battles dementia.
“It’s been a hard year,” Brandon told The Dallas Morning News. “She’s been having some dementia issues late in the year and it has been a surprise how quickly it progressed. There’s nothing wrong with someone wanting to live in a community with other folks their age.”
Granger last voted July 24 on an amendment regarding pesticide program administration. Her office has been empty, with calls going directly to voicemail, according to local reporter Carlos Turcios.
“As many of my family, friends, and colleagues have known, I have been navigating some unforeseen health challenges over the past year,” Granger wrote in a statement on Sunday. “However, since early September, my health challenges have progressed making frequent travel to Washington both difficult and unpredictable.”
Tarrant County GOP Chair Bo French condemned Granger’s extended absence from Congress, missing crucial votes.
“At a time when extraordinarily important votes are happening, including debt ceiling, disaster relief, farm bills and border issues, Kay Granger is nowhere to be found. The margin in Congress is razor thin and the lack of a Republican vote representing [her district] disenfranchises 2 million people,” French said. “We deserve better.”
State Republican Executive Committeeman Rolando Garcia criticized Republican Party leadership’s handling of the situation.
“A sad and humiliating way to end her political career. Sad that nobody cared enough to ‘take away the keys’ before she reached this moment and a sad commentary on the congressional gerontocracy.”
Granger, the first Republican woman elected to Congress from Texas and former House Appropriations Committee chair, announced her retirement in November 2023. Despite stepping down as committee chair in March, she plans to serve until January 3, 2025.
Some have advocated for early swearing-in of Congressman-elect Craig Goldman, who won the seat in the 2024 election after Granger announced her retirement.
“We need someone there with their full capacities,” said Tarrant County resident Hollie Plemons. “Swear Craig in early. That’s the solution.”
Granger’s team maintains she has kept leadership informed and would return for critical votes. Her last public appearance came in November at her portrait unveiling, where she reportedly oversaw her Washington office closure.