Former Representative Kay Granger Dies at Age 83

Former U.S. Representative Kay Granger, the first Republican woman from Texas elected to the House of Representatives, died Sunday, August 3, 2026, at the age of 83. Her son, J.D. Granger, confirmed her passing.

Granger represented Texas' 12th Congressional District from 1997 until 2025 and was the first Republican woman to chair the House Appropriations Committee. Before her congressional career, she served as the first female mayor of Fort Worth from 1991 to 1995. In Congress, she focused on defense spending, specifically the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, and pushed for non-defense spending cuts.

She retired in January 2025 after deciding not to seek reelection in 2024. While some reports cited general unforeseen health challenges that hindered her travel to Washington, other sources stated her family attributed her decline to dementia. This condition reportedly led to her disappearance from Capitol Hill for six months in 2024 before she was located in a specialized nursing home.

Colleagues from both parties praised her as a trailblazer. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Representative Rosa DeLauro remembered her for breaking barriers for women in public service and maintaining a bipartisan approach to leadership. Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker described her passing as the end of an era in political service.