Kay Granger, the first Republican woman from Texas elected to the U.S. House and the first woman from her party to lead the powerful House Appropriations Committee, has died at the age of 83.
Granger died Sunday, her son J.D. Granger confirmed. Her family said she had been living with Alzheimer’s disease, following earlier disclosures that worsening health problems had limited her ability to travel and participate in congressional business during the final months of her term.
The longtime Texas lawmaker served 14 terms in the House, representing the Fort Worth-area 12th Congressional District from January 1997 until January 2025. She chose not to seek reelection in 2024, ending a congressional career that lasted nearly three decades.
House Speaker Mike Johnson remembered Granger as a friend and a barrier-breaking public servant. Democratic Representative Rosa DeLauro, who also led the Appropriations Committee, praised Granger’s steady leadership and her belief in Congress’s responsibility to direct federal spending. The tributes reflected the respect Granger developed across party lines despite frequent disagreements over budgets and policy.
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Before entering national politics, Granger worked as a high school English and journalism teacher and later built an insurance business while raising three children. She entered Fort Worth politics through the city’s zoning commission, won a City Council seat in 1989 and became the city’s first elected female mayor two years later.
During her mayoral term from 1991 to 1995, Granger promoted public-private economic partnerships and supported citizen patrol programs intended to reduce crime. Her leadership attracted wider attention as Fort Worth confronted economic uncertainty connected to defense-industry changes and military restructuring after the Cold War.
Both major parties reportedly encouraged her to run for an open congressional seat in 1996. She ultimately entered the race as a Republican and became the first Republican woman elected to represent Texas in the House.
Granger initially served on committees involving the budget, government oversight and transportation before obtaining a position on the Appropriations Committee. That assignment placed her at the center of negotiations over how the federal government funds its departments, military operations, infrastructure programs and foreign-policy priorities.
She became the committee’s top Republican and then its chair when Republicans took control of the House in 2023. Her appointment made her the first Republican woman to lead the panel, although Democratic lawmakers Nita Lowey and Rosa DeLauro had previously chaired it.
Granger became particularly associated with defense spending and the F-35 fighter program, which supports a major manufacturing operation in the Fort Worth area. She also played a prominent role in debates involving foreign assistance, military funding and domestic spending reductions.
Her career covered several major changes within the Republican Party. Granger criticized Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign following his remarks about women, but she later supported his reelection campaign and received his endorsement.
Questions about Granger’s health and congressional representation emerged near the end of her final term. She cast her last House vote in July 2024 and largely disappeared from public view afterward. Her office acknowledged in December that health challenges had made travel to Washington difficult and unpredictable, following reports that she was living in a senior-care facility.
The delayed public disclosure sparked criticism from those who argued that constituents should have been informed sooner that their representative was no longer regularly participating in congressional work. Supporters noted that Granger had already announced her retirement and that lawmakers experiencing serious illnesses have historically remained in office during periods of treatment or recovery.
Her final months highlighted a difficult issue that Congress has never fully resolved: how to balance an elected official’s medical privacy with the public’s right to know whether that person can continue performing the responsibilities of office. Clearer disclosure standards could help constituents distinguish between a temporary absence and a prolonged inability to vote or conduct official business.
Granger’s death does not create a vacant House seat because her congressional term ended in January 2025. Her political legacy will instead center on her rise from local government to one of Congress’s most influential spending positions and the barriers she broke for Republican women in Texas and Washington.
Why It Matters
Granger’s career reflected the increasing influence of women in Republican politics and demonstrated how a local official could rise to control negotiations involving hundreds of billions of dollars in federal spending.
Her final absence also renewed questions about transparency, age and health in Congress. Voters depend on their elected representatives to cast votes, communicate with constituents and participate in major policy decisions, making prolonged undisclosed absences a legitimate public concern.
What Comes Next
Political leaders in Texas and Washington are expected to continue honoring Granger’s public service and her role in expanding opportunities for women in elected office.
Her family may announce additional memorial arrangements. Her record on defense spending, Fort Worth development and congressional appropriations will remain central to assessments of her nearly three decades in national politics.
Kay Granger — the first Republican woman from Texas elected to the U.S. House of Representatives — has died.
She was mayor of Fort Worth in the early 1990s before her election to Congress in 1996, where she stayed for nearly three decades.
As a longtime member of the House… pic.twitter.com/NggM9OkO8n
— PBS News (@NewsHour) August 3, 2026
