By As Congress grappled with the possibility of a government shutdown, one popular Republican went oddly missing. Rep. Kay Granger, who represents Texas’ 12th Congressional District, was nowhere to be found, sparking concern among her colleagues in Washington along with constituents and local leaders back home in Fort Worth.
Granger last participated in a congressional vote on July 24, 2024, when she opposed an amendment regarding a federal official’s salary. Since then, she has been absent from all subsequent roll call votes, leaving her district without representation during critical legislative decisions.
Attempts to reach Granger’s offices in Washington, D.C., and her local district have been met with automated voicemail responses. Furthermore, her Fort Worth district office was shuttered prior to Thanksgiving, with no official explanation provided. Building staff confirmed that her team had vacated the premises, leaving constituents in the dark.
Now, the case of the missing congresswoman has been solved by a local newspaper.
We then received a tip from a Granger constituent who shared that the Congresswoman has been residing at a local memory care and assisted living home for some time after having been found wandering lost and confused in her former Cultural District/West 7th neighborhood.
The Dallas Express team visited the facility to confirm whether Granger was residing there and to inquire about how she planned to vote on the spending bill. Upon arrival, two employees confirmed that Granger is indeed living at the facility. However, we were not permitted to conduct an interview regarding the current spending debate in the House of Representatives and how or if Ms. Granger planned to vote.
Taylor Manziel who is the Assistant Executive Director for the senior living facility acknowledged to The Dallas Express that “This is her home.”
While staff at the facility acknowledged her presence, they refrained from commenting on her health status or her capacity to continue serving in Congress.
Local officials voiced their disappointment over Kay Granger’s prolonged absence from Washington, especially given her long tenure representing Texas’ 12th Congressional District since 1997.
Tarrant County Republican Chairman Bo French described the lack of representation during such a critical voting period in Congress as deeply concerning.
“At a time when Congress is addressing critical issues like the debt ceiling, disaster relief, farm bills, and border security, Kay Granger is absent. With such a narrow margin in Congress, the absence of a Republican vote from District 12 effectively silences two million constituents. Our district deserves better,” French said.
State Republican Executive Committeeman Rolando Garcia expressed dismay at the discovery, writing on social media that it was a “sad and humiliating way” for Granger to end her 30-year political career, which included being mayor of Fort Worth.
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.
A sad and humiliating way to end her political career. Sad that… https://t.co/ElXhv6wWcW
— Rolando Garcia (@rdgarcia03) December 20, 2024
Granger will retire from Congress on January 3, 2025. She is two months younger than Joe Biden.
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