A source told Fox News on Sunday that Rep. Kay Granger, Republican of Texas, lives in a retirement home. The source also denied a local news report that said she was in a memory care facility.
Granger who will retire at the end of this congress period, She has remained largely absent from the Capitol in recent months, last voting on July 24. It was not present for more than 54% of the votes.
the Dallas Express It investigated the 81-year-old congresswoman's absence, publishing a report on Friday citing a constituent in her district who said Granger was staying at a memory care facility in Texas. The report was later picked up by other media outlets.
Fox News spoke with a source in Granger's office who denied that Granger was in the memory care unit. The source told Fox News that Granger is at a retirement facility where memory care is provided, but not in the memory care unit itself.
The House of Representatives passes the funding bill just hours before the government shutdown
Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, leaves a House Republican Caucus meeting at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington on Wednesday, May 10, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Granger issued a statement to Fox News saying she had been confronted “Health Challenges” He is “extremely grateful for the outpouring of care and attention” over the weekend.
“As many of my family members, friends, and colleagues know, I have been facing some unexpected health challenges over the past year,” Granger said in the statement. “However, since early September, my health challenges have worsened, making frequent travel to Washington difficult and unpredictable. During this time, my wonderful staff has remained steadfast, and continues to provide exceptional foundation services, as they have for the past 27 years.” “
Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, speaks during a news conference with other Republican members of the House of Representatives at the Capitol on July 21, 2020, in Washington, D.C. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
Granger, who is not seeking re-election to the next term, has served in the House since 1997. She previously served as the first female mayor of Fort Worth, Texas.
While Granger apparently has not cast a ballot since July, she returned to the Capitol in November for the unveiling of her portrait as chair of the Appropriations Committee, and the reception that followed. Both Speaker Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise spoke at the event.
A senior Republican source told Fox News that Granger did not step down earlier due to lack of paperwork Republican Party majority in the House of Representatives.
“Honestly, we needed the numbers,” the source told Fox News.
The narrow majority represents a challenge to the President of the 119th Congress Attend the vote This could be the difference between success or defeat for Republicans.
Fox News has reached out to Johnson's office for comment.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., criticized Granger's long absence in a post on X.
“Kay Granger's long absence exposes the problem of a Congress that rewards seniority and connections more than merit and ideas,” he wrote. “We have sclerotic gerontocracy. We need term limits. We need to get big money out of politics so a new generation of Americans can run and serve.”
Khanna was one of the few lawmakers who had previously criticized what he referred to as “geriatrics.” In May 2023, he called on Democratic Rep. Dianne Feinstein, then 89, to step down because her health problems kept her away from the Capitol. Feinstein died months later in September 2023.
