The Texas Republican has not voted in the House of Representatives since July because he is dealing with “dementia issues” and living in a nursing home, according to his family. – Something she didn't reveal to the public until the Dallas press knew where she had been during her long absence.
Kay Granger, 81, has represented Texas' 12th Congressional District, which includes parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, since 1997. And for more than a year, starting in January 2023, he chaired the powerful House Appropriations Committee.
But months after announcing plans to retire when his term expires in early 2025, Granger largely disappeared from the public eye. she council website Her last vote was July 24, days after Joe Biden suspended his presidential re-election campaign over questions about age and mental health, reducing the salary of the deputy assistant administrator for pesticide programs to $1. This indicates that the government opposed the measures taken.
The reporter stated this fact as follows. dallas express To find out where Granger was. Calls to her office went straight to voicemail, and there was no sign of any business being conducted at the district office.
Reporter Carlos Turcios eventually received information from a local resident that Granger had been admitted to an assisted living center specializing in memory care. According to an article Turcios published in the Dallas Express on Friday, after visiting the property in question to confirm whether Granger actually lived there, the deputy solicitor general said, “This is her home.'' ” he admitted.
Granger's son later said: dallas morning news Granger “has dementia issues” and has moved into an independent senior living center with a memory care community on the same property, she said. However, he disputed that she was being treated in a memory care community, saying she was a resident on the independent living side of the property.
Neither Mr. Granger nor his staff could be reached for comment Sunday. The Morning News reported that it obtained a statement from Granger's office, which thanked the public for their concerns and said that “unforeseen health issues” made frequent travel to Washington, D.C., “difficult.” “and unpredictable.”
Local and state Republican leaders were among those who said they had problems with reporting on Granger.
Beau French, Republican chairman of Tarrant County, Texas, told the Dallas Express, “There's a lack of representation.” [Granger’s district] It’s tedious to say the least.”
French said there have been “very important votes” on disaster relief, the debt ceiling and the U.S.-Mexico border since Granger's last vote. “And Kay Granger. [was] I can't find it anywhere. …We deserve better. ”
Texas Republican Party Commissioner Rolando Garcia said in a social media post: added Granger's need to live in a memory care facility suggests that she may already be showing “visible decline” by the time she successfully re-elects in 2022.
“It ended her political career in a sad and humiliating way,” Garcia wrote. “It's sad that no one cared enough to 'pick up the keys' until she got to this moment.” And a sad commentary on the elder politics of Congress. ”
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Congressional Majority Leader Steve Scalise – both Louisiana Republicans – welcomed Granger attended an event in her honor in Washington, D.C., in November. Mr. Johnson praised her as a “defender of Texas,” a “loyal public servant” and a “loyal friend,” while Mr. Scalise praised her as a “tough conservative.”
Earlier in February, both Johnson and Scalise said that one of the “most disturbing parts” of the special counsel's report on Biden's handling of classified documents was “how the president's memory… The company signed a statement stating whether it had “significant limitations.''
After Biden's poor performance in the debate against Trump in June, which led to questions about his mental strength, Johnson prompted The President's Cabinet called on the president to consider invoking a constitutional amendment that would allow him to replace him if he is deemed incapable of carrying out his duties.
Biden, 82, withdrew from the Nov. 5 election on July 21, three days before Granger's last recorded vote in Congress. He supported Vice President Kamala Harris, 60, to succeed her, but Donald Trump, 78, defeated her, securing his second term as president starting in January.
Meanwhile, also in February, Granger's Republican colleagues in the House of Representatives requested Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin testified before Congress that he did not immediately disclose to the White House that he was hospitalized due to complications from surgery to treat prostate cancer.
Texas House of Representatives craig goldman He won the November election and took over Granger's seat.
Granger was the first woman to serve as mayor of Fort Worth and also a Republican. She helped secure more military funding, in part because a Lockheed Martin factory builds F-35 fighter jets in her district.
On Friday, Granger posted a photo on his Facebook page with an entourage of people described as “the best.”
The post was flooded with comments about the scandal reported by the Dallas Express, including one that said, “There were people who hid her, who helped cover up her disappearance, or who knew she was.'' There was also one that said, “Everyone…'' [a senior] Dementia care facilities need to take responsibility. This is disgusting. ”
The Associated Press contributed reporting.
