A sitting Republican congresswoman who disappeared from Washington six months ago was found to be residing at an assisted living facility for dementia patients in Texas this week.
Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX), 81, had not been on the record voting for or against any bills since July 24, 2024.
Carlos Turcios, a local reporter with The Dallas Express, began investigating the congresswoman’s whereabouts. Turcios began by contacting Granger’s offices but his calls went straight to voicemail.
The reporter also visited Granger’s district office to find out how she planned on voting on the continuing resolution this week but found no signs of anyone working there.
Turcios then received a tip from one of Granger’s constituents suggesting that she has been living in a memory care facility for some time after she was “found wandering lost and confused in her former Cultural District/West 7th neighborhood.”
Two employees confirmed to the Daily Express that Granger is indeed living at the facility and Taylor Manziel, the Assistant Executive Director for the senior living facility told the outlet that “this is her home.”
Granger has been serving in the U.S. House since Jan. 3, 1997. She was the first Republican woman from Texas elected to the House and the first female Republican appropriations committee chair.
She announced her retirement from Congress last year but still has weeks left in her term before the new Congress is sworn in January 2025.
Local officials and residents are furious about the lack of representation in the House.
“The lack of representation for CD-12 is troubling to say the least,” Tarrant County GOP Chair Bo French said.
“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,” he continued. “The margin in Congress is razor thin and the lack of a Republican vote representing CD-12 disenfranchises 2 million people. We deserve better.”
“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,” said Rolando Garcia, a Republican Committeeman in the district.
“A sad and humiliating way to end her political career,” Garcia added. “Sad that nobody cared enough to ‘take away the keys’ before she reached this moment and a sad commentary on the congressional gerontocracy.”
Tarrant County resident Hollie Plemons called for Granger to resign immediately and her successor Republican Congressman-elect Craig Goldman replace her.
“We need someone there with their full capacities,” Plemons said.
“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 continued. “She’s a public servant, we have thanked her for her service but now she needs to resign.”