Texas Republican Rep. Kay Granger has been living in a retirement facility, a source told Fox News on Sunday. The source also denied local news reports that she was in a memory care facility.
Granger, who will retire at the end of this congressional term, has been largely absent from the Capitol in recent months, last voting on July 24. .
The Dallas Express-News, which investigated the 81-year-old congresswoman’s absence, published a report Friday citing a constituent in her district who said Granger was living in a Texas home. in a memory care facility. The report was later picked up by other news outlets.
Fox News spoke with a source in Granger’s office who denied that Granger was in the memory care unit. Sources told Fox News that Granger was at a retirement facility that provides memory care, but not in the memory care unit itself.
House passes funding bill just hours before government shutdown
Texas Republican Rep. Kay Granger leaves a House Republican Caucus meeting at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Granger released a statement to Fox News, saying she faces “health challenges” and is “extremely grateful for the outpouring of care and concern over the weekend.”
“As many of my family, friends and colleagues know, I have been dealing with a number of unforeseen health challenges over the past year,” Granger said in the statement. “However, since early September, my health challenges have continued to worsen. , making frequent trips to Washington difficult and unpredictable, my incredible staff has remained steadfast and continued to provide excellent constituent service, just as they have for the past 27 years.
Texas Republican Rep. Kay Granger speaks during a news conference with other House Republican members at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., July 21, 2020 (Samuel Colum/Getty Images)
Granger has served in the House since 1997 and is not seeking re-election next term.
While Granger did not appear to have voted since July, she did return to the Capitol in November to unveil her portrait as chair of the Appropriations Committee and hold a reception afterwards. House Speaker Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise both spoke at the event.
Republican congressman-elect outlines how dogs and Trump’s agenda will get country ‘back on track’: ‘It’s not business as usual’
A senior Republican source told Fox News that Granger did not resign early due to the slim Republican majority in the House.
“Frankly, we need the numbers,” the source told Fox News.
The narrow majority poses a challenge to the speaker of the 119th Congress, and voting attendance may determine the success or failure of the Republican Party.
Fox News reached out to Johnson’s office for comment.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., criticized Granger’s long absence in a post on the X website.
“Kay Granger’s long absence exposes a problem in a Congress that rewards seniority and connections more than merit and ideas,” he wrote. “We have a sclerotic gerontocracy. We need term limits. We need a break from politics. Get big money so a new generation of Americans can run and serve.”
Click to Get the Fox News App
Khanna is one of the few lawmakers who has previously criticized what he calls “gerontocracy.” In May 2023, he called on then-89-year-old Democratic Rep. Dianne Feinstein to step down because her own health issues kept her away from the Capitol. Feinstein died a few months later in September 2023.
