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Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) is living in a nursing home, officials told Fox News on Sunday. The official also denied local reports that she was in a memory care facility.
Granger, who is retiring at the end of this current term, has been largely absent from the chamber in recent months, last voting on July 24. This year, she did not attend with over 54% of the votes cast.
The Dallas Express investigated the 81-year-old congressman’s absence and published a report Friday citing a constituent in his district who said Granger resides in a memory care facility in Texas. This report was later picked up by other news outlets.
Fox News spoke to a source from Granger’s office, who denied that Granger was in the memory care unit. Sources told Fox News that Granger is in a retirement facility where memory care is provided, although not in a memory care unit itself.
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Congresswoman Kay Granger leaves a House Republican caucus meeting at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington, D.C., on May 10, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, via Getty Images)
In a statement to Fox News, Granger said she was facing “health challenges” and was “deeply grateful for the outpouring of care and concern” over the weekend.
“As many of my family, friends, and colleagues know, I have been navigating unexpected health challenges over the past year,” Granger said in a statement. “However, since early September, my health issues have progressed, making frequent trips to Washington difficult and unpredictable. During this time, my wonderful staff has remained steadfast and They continued to provide excellent constituent service, as they have done for 27 years.”
Congresswoman Kay Granger speaks during a press conference with other Republicans at the Capitol on July 21, 2020. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
Granger, who was not seeking re-election next term, has served in the House of Representatives since 1997 and previously served as the first female mayor of Fort Worth, Texas.
Mr. Granger does not appear to have voted since July, but returned to the Capitol in November for the unveiling of his portrait as appropriations chairman and a reception afterwards. House Speaker Johnson (R-LA) and House Minority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) both spoke at the event.
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A senior Republican told Fox News that Granger did not resign early because Republicans have a paper-thin majority in the House.
“Frankly, we needed the numbers,” the source told Fox News.
A slim majority is a challenge for the speaker of the 119th Congress, and voting attendance could be the difference between victory and defeat for Republicans.
Fox News has reached out to Johnson’s office for comment.
Granger’s prolonged absence was criticized by Representative Ro Khanna, D-Calif., in a post on X.
“Kay Granger’s prolonged absence reveals a problem with a Congress that values seniority and relationships over merit and ideas,” he wrote. “We have a sclerotic elderocracy. We need term limits. We need to get big money out of politics so a new generation of Americans can run and serve.”
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Mr. Khanna had previously been one of the few MPs to criticize what he called “elder politics.” In May 2023, he called on then-89-year-old Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein to resign, citing health issues that would keep her away from the Capitol. Feinstein passed away a few months later, in September 2023.
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