The Guardian Absent US congresswoman has been dealing with ‘dementia issues’, family says

 

Absent US congresswoman has been dealing with ‘dementia issues’, family says

Ramon Antonio Vargas

Sun, December 22, 2024

A Republican congresswoman from Texas has not cast a vote in the US House since July while she has been grappling with “dementia issues” and residing at a senior living facility, according to her family – something she did not disclose to the public before a Dallas media outlet figured out where she was during her prolonged absence.

Kay Granger, 81, has represented Texas’s 12th congressional district, which includes part of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, since 1997. And beginning in January 2023 she spent more than a year as the chairperson of the powerful House appropriations committee.

But months after announcing her plans to retire when her term ended in early 2025, Granger largely disappeared from the public eye. Her congressional website shows her last vote was on 24 July, opposing a measure to reduce the salary of the deputy assistant administrator for pesticide programs to $1 just days after Joe Biden canceled his presidential re-election campaign over questions about his age and mental fitness.

That fact prompted a reporter with the Dallas Express to dig into where Granger was. Calls to her offices were going directly to voicemail, and there were no signs of ongoing business at her constituency office.

The reporter, Carlos Turcios, eventually received a tip from a local resident that Granger had moved into an assisted living center specializing in memory care. After going to the facility in question to determine whether Granger indeed lived there, the assistant executive director confirmed, “This is her home,” according to a story that Turcios published on Friday in the Dallas Express.

Granger’s son later reportedly told the Dallas Morning News that Granger was “having some dementia issues” and had moved into an independent senior living center with a memory care community on the same property. However, he disputed that she was being treated at the memory care community and said she was a resident of the independent living side of the property.

Neither Granger nor her staff could immediately be reached for comment on Sunday. The Morning News reported obtaining a statement from Granger’s office which conveyed gratitude for the public’s concern and stated that “unforeseen health challenges” had made traveling to Washington DC frequently “both difficult and unpredictable”.

Local and state Republican leaders were among those who said they were troubled over the reporting about Granger.

Bo French, the chairperson of the Tarrant county, Texas, Republican party, told the Dallas Express that the “lack of representation for [Granger’s district] is troubling to say the least”.

“Extraordinarily important votes” involving disaster relief, the debt ceiling and US-Mexico border have occurred since Granger’s last vote, French said. “And Kay Granger [was] nowhere to be found. … We deserve better.”

In a social media post, the Texas state Republican committee member Rolando Garcia added that Granger’s need to live in a memory care facility suggests she may have already been “in visible decline” when she successfully ran for re-election in 2022.

THE GUARDIAN

Missing Rep’s Whereabouts Revealed After Six-Month Absence on Capitol Hill

MIA

Granger and her staff remain on taxpayers’ payroll until her retirement in January.

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Texas Rep. Kay Granger has reportedly been found to be living in a retirement facility that provides memory care after being missing from the Capitol for six months.

Serving as the U.S. representative for Texas’s 12th congressional district for over the past two decades, 81-year-old Granger—who did not run for reelection in November and is set to retire January next year—hasn’t cast a vote in Washington D.C. since July, according to her roll call vote page.

With her absence sparking concern among local residents, The Dallas Express investigated Granger’s whereabouts and found that calls to her district and D.C. offices were sent directly to voicemail and that her constituency office appeared to be closed.

U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) speaks to U.S. Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX) as the House of Representatives meets to elect a new Speaker of the House at the U.S. Capitol Building on October 17, 2023 in Washington, DC.Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

The newspaper then received a tip that Granger was living in a local memory care facility and assisted living home after having been found wandering lost and confused in her former neighborhood.

Reporters at The Dallas Express proceeded to visit the facility to vet the tip and found that Granger was indeed living there with two employees confirming her residence upon arrival. The Assistant Executive Director for the facility, Taylor Manziel, also confirmed the scoop and told the outlet: “This is her home.”

The Dallas Express was not permitted to conduct an interview with Granger however, though they were hoping to ask her how she intended to vote on the government spending bill that caused a rift in the House of Representatives earlier this week (a bill has since been passed and signed by President Joe Biden on Saturday).

On Sunday, Granger released a statement addressing concerns over her health and absence. “As many of my family, friends, and colleagues have known, I have been navigating some unforeseen health challenges over the past year,” Granger wrote per Fox News Senior Congressional Correspondent Chad Pergram, who adds that she is in a retirement facility that provides memory care.

“However, since early September, my health challenges have progressed making frequent travel to Washington both difficult and unpredictable,” she continued. “In November, I was able to return to DC to hold meetings on behalf of my constituents, express my gratitude to my staff, and oversee the closure of my Washington office. It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve the city of Fort Worth—as a city council member, as mayor, and as a Member of Congress.”

Granger’s absence had troubled other local officials with Tarrant County Republican Chairman Bo French telling The Dallas Express, “The lack of representation for CD-12 is 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,” 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.”

Notably, Granger posted a tribute to her congressional interns Friday on X writing, “I have been honored to have had the best congressional interns assisting me and my team!

“Thank you all for your great service to TX-12 over the years!,” she added alongside a group photo.

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

THE DAILY BEAST