News that Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, has been residing in a retirement facility and experiencing a “very rapid” decline sparked a widespread outcry on social media this week, drawing reactions from across the political spectrum. Among those weighing in was billionaire Elon Musk, a prominent adviser to and supporter of President-elect Donald Trump. “Maybe we should have some basic cognitive test for elected officials? This is getting crazy …” Musk said, in reference to the news about Granger.
Former Department of Education press secretary Angela Morabito said Granger’s staff was possibly “complicit.” “WOW: Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX), who hasn’t voted on a bill in six months, has been living in a nursing home in secret. Records show she has a staff of 25. If any of them knew – and it would be hard not to know – they are complicit,” Morabito shared on X.
Granger, 81, chose not to seek re-election and is set to retire at the end of this congressional term next month. She has been largely absent from Capitol Hill in recent months, with her last recorded vote taking place on July 24. This year, she missed more than 54% of votes. Additionally, Granger stepped down from her leadership role on the House Appropriations Committee, which is responsible for drafting federal funding legislation.
Former Texas state representative Jonathan Stickland also commented about Granger, expressing that he was aware of her memory issues. “No one should be mad at Rep. Kay Granger. Six years ago (as an elected official who worked regularly with/around her) it was obvious she had serious memory issues. She has had no idea what was going on for a while. Yet her friends, family, and staff lied to her. They failed to protect her, and left her in office for their own benefit. Be mad at them. Praying for peace for Rep. Granger,” Stickland posted. Utah Republican Senator Mike Lee said the news about Granger marked a “compelling case for term limits.”
Granger’s absence was initially reported by the Dallas Express on Friday, citing a constituent who revealed that the Texas congresswoman is living in a memory care facility. On Monday, Axios political reporter Hans Nichols acknowledged on CNN that he had missed the story about Granger, attributing it to limited journalistic resources. “[We] … have limited resources and limited time to report all these stories out. That said, we should have gotten the Kay Granger story. I mean, I’ll own part of that, as someone that spends some time on the Hill. You know, collectively we’re all guilty. Like, you know, individually, it’s hard to parse out guilt,” Nichols said.
The story about Rep. Kay Granger comes on the heels of a year dominated by concerns over President Biden’s cognitive and mental fitness, which ultimately resulted in him being pushed out of the Democratic nomination. Reports have since surfaced about a coordinated effort to keep his decline hidden from the public. Executive director for Women for America First, Kylie Jane Kremer, wrote on X, “Not just leadership but all colleagues that were aware. Just as we are outraged about Biden, there should be equal outrage about Kay Granger.”