Former Texas Rep. Kay Granger dies at 83

Republican former Rep. Kay Granger of Texas has died, lawmakers announced Sunday.

Republican former Rep. Kay Granger of Texas has died, lawmakers announced Sunday.

Granger, who served on Capitol Hill for 28 years and chaired the House Appropriations Committee, was 83.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., announced Granger’s death on X, calling her “a dear friend who will be greatly missed.”

“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,” Johnson wrote.

In December 2024, The Dallas Express reported that Granger, who had not cast a vote since July of that year and had announced in 2023 that she would not seek re-election, was residing in an assisted living facility. Her son later told The Dallas Morning News that she was experiencing “dementia issues.”