Retiring GOP congresswoman’s decline has been ‘very rapid,’ son says

Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, experienced a “very rapid” decline since moving into a retirement facility, her son said, after it was discovered over the weekend that the congresswoman had been absent from her duties in the Capitol for nearly six months.

Brandon Granger told the New York Post that his mother made the decision to move into the retirement community on her own, though she has since shown signs of dementia over the past three months.

The 81-year-old congresswoman, who did not seek re-election and is retiring at the end of this congressional term, has largely remained absent from the Capitol in recent months, having last cast votes on July 24. She was not present for over 54% of votes this year.

Granger’s absence was first reported by the Dallas Express on Friday in a piece that quoted a constituent of her district who said that Granger was residing in a memory care facility in Texas.

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Retiring Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, appeared for the unveiling of her portrait as Appropriations Committee Chairwoman in Washington, D.C., in November. (The Office of Kay Granger)

A source in Granger’s office spoke to Fox News on Sunday, denying that the congresswoman was in the facility’s memory care unit. The source said Granger was residing in the retirement facility where memory care is provided, though not in the memory care unit itself.

Brandon Granger excoriated the reports that said his mother was in the memory care unit after she was found wandering as “a load of bulls–t.”

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

Granger 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)

Brandon Granger added that his mother’s decline has been “very rapid and very difficult,” though he did not say whether she had received treatment at the memory facility, the Post reported.

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Granger released a statement Sunday saying that she has faced “health challenges” and is “deeply grateful for the outpouring of care and concern” over the weekend.

“As many of my family, friends, and colleagues have known, I have been navigating some unforeseen health challenges over the past year,” Granger said in the statement. “However, since early September, my health challenges have progressed making frequent travel to Washington both difficult and unpredictable. During this time, my incredible staff has remained steadfast, continuing to deliver exceptional constituent services, as they have for the past 27 years.”

Granger, center, talks with Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., during the House Appropriations Committee markup of “Fiscal Year 2024 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Bill and Interim Suballocation of Budget Allocations” in Rayburn Building on June 14, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

While Granger appears to not have cast a vote since July, she did return to the Capitol in November for the unveiling of her portrait as Appropriations Committee Chairwoman, and a reception that followed. House Speaker Johnson, R-La., and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., were both present at the event.

Granger has served in the House since 1997. She previously served as the first female mayor of Fort Worth, Texas.

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Republican congressman-elect Craig Goldman will succeed Granger in January.

Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report.