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U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, the retiring Fort Worth Republican who has been frequently absent from Congress for months, said in a statement Sunday she has been facing “health challenges.”

"As many of my family, friends, and colleagues have known, I have been navigating some unforeseen health challenges over the past year,” she said. “However, since early September, my health challenges have progressed making frequent travel to Washington both difficult and unpredictable. During this time, my incredible staff has remained steadfast, continuing to deliver exceptional constituent services, as they have for the past 27 years."

Granger, 81, was the first Republican woman elected to represent Texas in Congress, where she has served since 1997. In her statement, she said she was able to return to Washington, D.C. in November to attend meetings and oversee the closure of her office as her final term in office reaches an end. She also attended a ceremony in which her portrait was unveiled to celebrate her 25-year tenure on the House Appropriations Committee.

Granger did not run for reelection this year. She will be replaced by state Rep. Craig Goldman, a Republican who won the race for her seat in November. His term starts when Congress returns to session on Jan. 3.

Granger did not say what her health issues were. Her staff did not immediately respond to questions about why Granger’s health issues were not previously disclosed to the public.

Granger’s last vote in Congress was in July. She was among 29 representatives who did not vote Friday on a critical spending bill to keep the government open, but the measure overwhelmingly passed the House. The Senate gave it final passage Saturday.

The Dallas Morning News reported Sunday that Granger's son, Brandon Granger, said his mother is living in a senior-living facility in Fort Worth and experiencing “dementia issues.”

“It’s been a hard year,” he told the News.

Brandon Granger denied previous reports that his mother was residing in a memory care facility.

Granger previously served as Fort Worth mayor. In Congress, she has served on the influential House Appropriations Committee since 1999. She became chair of the committee in 2022 before stepping down from the role earlier this year.

Reporting in the Rio Grande Valley is supported in part by the Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/22/texas-kay-granger-health-fort-worth/.

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