The Daily Populous Monday December 23rd, 2024 morning edition
Authored by nypost.com and submitted by flimspringfield

An elderly Texas member of Congress who has been seemingly missing from the Capitol for six months is now living in a retirement community that specializes in memory care — and even her family acknowledges she has exhibited possible signs of dementia.

Longtime Republican Rep. Kay Granger 81, has not cast a vote in Washington D.C. since July — despite the GOP’s super-slim majority in the chamber.

Questions about Granger’s health caused massive uproar after The Dallas Express — which was founded by one of her political opponents — reported on Friday that she was living full-time in a memory care unit and was moved there after she was found wandering her neighborhood.

3 Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) has not voted in Washington in six months. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Granger did not run for reelection in November, but her disappearance is especially significant given the tiny majority Republicans hold in the House — and the massive votes that are taking place, including the government spending bill — in the waning days of her tenure.

However, her son told The Post that that claim was “a load of bulls–t” and that she moved into a condo in an indpendent living community because was getting bored and lonely in her Fort Worth apartment.

Three sources close to Granger, including her son, Brandon; her current spokesperson; and another source familiar have denied to The Post that she is living in the memory care unit. Her son was coy with The Post about whether she received care from that unit.

“They have a memory care facility there, but she’s in [an] independent living facility. It’s a nice condo. I helped her move in,” Brandon Granger said.

Brandon Granger acknowledged that his mother has exhibited signs of dementia — but that they only emerged in the last three months after she was already living at the facility.

The source familiar told The Post that Granger “has been in contact with leadership from the beginning, letting them know what was going on, and would have been happy to travel back to DC if they needed her for a specific vote.”

Granger’s spokesperson released a statement attributed to her that said, “I am deeply grateful for the outpouring of care and concern over the past several days.

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“As many of my family, friends, and colleagues have known, I have been navigating some unforeseen health challenges over the past year. However, since early September, my health challenges have progressed making frequent travel to Washington both difficult and unpredictable.”

Dallas Express reporters who visited the facility to confirm Granger’s residency and inquire about how she planned to vote on the spending bill were not permitted to speak with the congresswoman, according to the publication.

3 Granger has been living in a Texas memory care facility, according to a report. Getty Images

Employees, however, confirmed that Granger was living in the facility, the Express reported.

The CEO of the Dallas Express is Chris Putnam, who ran against Granger in the 2020 Republican primary and lost.

Granger had been the first female Republican to serve as chair of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, but abruptly stepped down from that role in March, handing the baton off to Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.)

She was notably absent from the government funding flap in Congress last week that once put Congress to the brink of a government shutdown.

Despite her pronounced absence from votes in Washington, DC, over recent months, Granger made an appearance last month when she was honored with a portrait. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) were present at that unveiling.

A source underscored that if Kay Granger, who was first elected to the lower chamber in 1997, retired in September then there would have been a special election and her constituents in Texas’s 12th congressional district would’ve been without key services.

Congress was on recess throughout August and October — during a large chunk of the time that the Lone Star State Republican was out of the nation’s capital. Still, while her absence flew under the radar of much of the national press, it did not go entirely unnoticed by her constituency.

Local officials expressed their disappointment about Granger’s clear absence from Washington after representing her district since 1997.

Tarrant County Republican Chainman Bo French said the lack of representation during a crucial voting period in Congress was “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. The margin in Congress is razor thin and the lack of a Republican vote representing CD-12 disenfranchises 2 million people. We deserve better,” French said.

3 Granger was set to retire this upcoming January. AP

State Republican Executive Committeeman Rolando Garcia said 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,” Garcia wrote on X.

“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,” he added.

Granger’s constituents also expressed their concerns over the lack of representation, suggesting that Congressman-elect Craig Goldman, who won her seat in November, should take over the job early.

“We need someone there with their full capacities. Swear Craig in early. That’s the solution. That’s the right thing to do. She just missed a big vote, it wasn’t won/loss on one vote but we still have to protect our country, it’s not about hurt feelings. She’s a public servant, we have thanked her for her service but now she needs to resign,” Tarrant County resident Hollie Plemons told the Express.

Granger and her staff will remain on taxpayers’ payroll until Jan. 3.

IThinkTheClockIsSlow on December 22nd, 2024 at 15:29 UTC »

Tells you how the news cycle has changed. I had no idea a sitting member of congress was missing for six months. Ten years ago this would have been the only news you'd see.

sachiprecious on December 22nd, 2024 at 15:15 UTC »

I'm so confused right now. A member of Congress has been missing for half a year and I've never heard of this story. Why wasn't this major news?!

And if she had to be put in a memory care home, why was she still allowed to be a Congressperson? By now it doesn't matter since she's about to be out of office anyway, but why wasn't she removed from office? (This is different from Biden, Trump, and McConnell. They aren't in a memory care home.)

Also, why is someone allowed to be in Congress after missing so many votes and not doing the job at all?? Sure, people in Congress miss votes sometimes, but I just wonder why there's no limit.

WiseChemistry2339 on December 22nd, 2024 at 15:09 UTC »

Why in the world isn’t there a rule if a rep is absent for say, 8 weeks, especially without explanation, a special election to replace them isn’t immediately called?!