By Harold Hutchison
Former Republican Texas Rep. Kay Granger, the first woman of her party elected to represent the Lone Star State in the House of Representatives, died at the age of 83, House Speaker Mike Johnson and other officials confirmed Sunday night.
Granger, who was first elected in 1997, served the last several months of her fourteenth congressional term in an assisted living facility after she had not voted on legislation since July 2024. Granger moved into the facility after being found wandering and confused near an old residence near her former Cultural District and West 7th neighborhood, according to the Dallas Express.
No official cause of death was immediately reported.
Senile or sickly members of Congress can go for years without casting a vote or showing up for work, sometimes leaving their party with too few votes to pass crucial legislation. South Dakota Republican Senator Karl Mundt, who suffered a stroke in 1969, refused to resign, and spent his final four years in the U.S. Senate without casting a vote. U.S. Senator Carter Glass of Virginia went nearly four full years without appearing at the U.S. Capitol or casting a vote, a period spanning from June 1942 until his death on May 28, 1946. Despite being entirely incapacitated and out of touch with the public, he refused to resign. His colleagues permitted him to keep his seat and his high-ranking position as Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Speaker Johnson offered praise for Granger, who was the first Republican woman to chair the House Appropriations Committee, in a Sunday night post on X. (RELATED: Is It Really This Hard For Politicians To Admit The Truth About Their Health?)
“Kay Granger devoted her life to serving her Fort Worth, Texas community — as a teacher and businesswoman, on the Fort Worth Zoning Commission and City Council, as Mayor, and in Congress for nearly three decades, where she also served as Chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee,” Johnson said. “Throughout her career, she broke barriers for women in public service. She was the first woman to serve as Mayor of Fort Worth, the first Republican woman elected to represent Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the first Republican woman to chair the House Appropriations Committee.”
Kay Granger devoted her life to serving her Fort Worth, Texas community — as a teacher and businesswoman, on the Fort Worth Zoning Commission and City Council, as Mayor, and in Congress for nearly three decades, where she also served as Chairwoman of the House Appropriations…
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) August 3, 2026
“Kelly and I send our prayers to her family, loved ones, and the Fort Worth community as we remember her extraordinary life of service and lasting legacy. She was a dear friend who will be greatly missed,” Johnson continued.
Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker also paid tribute to Granger, the first woman to be elected mayor of the Texas city, in a post on Facebook.
“Kay Granger was a trailblazer and tenacious leader. Among her many achievements, she was the first woman to be elected Mayor of Fort Worth and the first Republican woman to serve from Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives,” Parker posted. “Over the years that I worked with Kay, I learned from her indelible spirit, work ethic, constant sacrifice, and unwavering commitment to Texas and Fort Worth. I’m fortunate to have called her a mentor and friend. To Kay’s family, my prayers are with you.”
“What a lady, and the end of an era in political service,” Parker concluded.
