After missing dozens of votes since July, 81-year-old Congresswoman Kay Granger has been found living at a dementia care facility back in her home state of Texas, putting an even brighter light on the health of some of America’s oldest leaders. Ms. Granger was the chairwoman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee shortly before she went missing.
Reporters from the Dallas Express went looking for Ms. Granger last week to ask her about the government spending bill that was coming up for a vote. When their calls went to voicemail, they discovered her district office has been shuttered since before Thanksgiving and a constituent tipped them off that she had been living at a Fort Worth senior living facility.
Staff at the facility confirmed to the Express that Ms. Granger was, in fact, now in their care. “This is her home,” the home’s assistant executive director, Taylor Manziel, told the Express.
Ms. Granger has represented the 12th District, which includes Fort Worth, since she was first elected to Congress in 1996. Prior to that, she served as mayor of Fort Worth for four years.
As President Biden prepares to leave office with historically low approval ratings, and septuagenarians cling to their leadership positions on both House and Senate committees, the discovery about Ms. Granger has cast a new light on the crisis that is America’s gerontocracy.
Ms. Granger — as recently as April — was nominally in charge of spending the money collected from American taxpayers. As chairwoman of the House appropriations committee, she was charged with crafting spending bills, leading debate on the floor, and working with her Senate counterpart to determine how many dollars go to which programs.
Ms. Granger abruptly announced her resignation from the committee chair post in March — a move that left many confused, given that the Appropriations Committee is considered the most powerful in the House, with members toiling away in committee rooms for decades just for a chance to hold the gavel.
Ms. Granger has not voted on the House floor since July 24, and will officially leave Congress on January 3.
The chairman of the Tarrant County Republicans, Bo French, told the Express that Ms. Granger’s — or her family’s — decision to not vacate the seat or show up for work has disenfranchised her own voters.
“The lack of representation for CD-12 is troubling to say the least. 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,” Mr. French said. “The margin in Congress is razor thin and the lack of a Republican vote representing CD-12 disenfranchises 2 million people. We deserve better.”