Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, has been living in a retirement facility, according to a source reported by Fox News on Sunday. This contradicts a previous report by a local news outlet that claimed she was in a memory care facility.
Granger, who is retiring at the end of this congressional term, has been largely absent from the Capitol in recent months. Her last recorded vote was on July 24, and she has missed over 54% of the votes this year.
A Dallas Express investigation published a report last Friday that claimed Granger was residing in a memory care facility in Texas, which was later picked up by other news outlets. However, a source from Granger’s office denied the report, stating that she is actually in a retirement facility that offers memory care services, but not in the memory care unit itself.
Granger released a statement to Fox News, saying she has been experiencing “health challenges” and is “deeply grateful for the outpouring of care and concern” over the weekend. She stated that her health challenges have made it difficult for her to travel to Washington frequently, and her staff has continued to provide exceptional constituent services despite her absence.
Granger, who did not seek re-election for the coming term, has served in the House since 1997 and previously served as the first female mayor of Fort Worth, Texas. She is one of the most senior members of the House, and her long absence has been criticized by some, including Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who has called for term limits and getting “big money out of politics” to allow for a new generation of Americans to run and serve.
Granger’s absence has been a topic of discussion in the House, with some senior Republicans viewing her retirement as a blow to their party’s chances of maintaining power in the next Congress. The House speaker has not yet commented on the situation.