Kay Granger, First Republican Woman From Texas Elected to Congress, Dies at 83

Former Republican Rep. Kay Granger (TX-12), the first woman to serve as mayor of Fort Worth and the first Republican woman from Texas elected to Congress, has died. She was 83. Officials announced her death Sunday evening.

Granger also became the first Republican woman to chair the House Appropriations Committee, one of several barriers she broke over nearly three decades in Washington. Her last year in office, marked by months away from the Capitol and questions about her health, complicated an otherwise historic career.

The North Texas Republican represented the state’s 12th Congressional District from January 1997 until January 2025. She served 28 years in the House and eventually took charge of the committee that controls federal spending.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana (LA-04) remembered Granger as a trailblazer, public servant, and close friend in a statement Sunday night.

Kay Granger devoted her life to serving her Fort Worth, Texas community — as a teacher and businesswoman, on the Fort Worth Zoning Commission and City Council, as Mayor, and in Congress for nearly three decades, where she also served as Chairwoman of the House Appropriations…

— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) August 3, 2026

“Kay Granger devoted her life to serving her Fort Worth, Texas community — as a teacher and businesswoman, on the Fort Worth Zoning Commission and City Council, as Mayor, and in Congress for nearly three decades, where she also served as Chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee.

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.

Kelly and I send our prayers to her family, loved ones, and the Fort Worth community as we remember her extraordinary life of service and lasting legacy. She was a dear friend who will be greatly missed.”

Granger’s political career began with a neighborhood fight over a proposed liquid-waste processing plant near her East Fort Worth home. She organized residents against the project, then served on the Fort Worth Zoning Commission from 1981 to 1989.

She moved to the Fort Worth City Council in 1989 and won the mayor’s race two years later. After serving as mayor until 1995, Granger ran for an open congressional seat in 1996. She won and began the first of 14 consecutive terms the following January.

Granger spent 25 years on the House Appropriations Committee. She became its ranking Republican in 2019, took the gavel in January 2023, and stepped down as chair in April 2024. Much of her work focused on military readiness, veterans, national defense, and projects important to North Texas.

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A long absence defined her final months in Congress. Granger cast her last recorded House vote on July 24, 2024. With Republicans working under a razor-thin majority and major votes on the debt ceiling, disaster relief, and border security still ahead, Texas’ 12th District went without her vote for the rest of the term.

Local reports later said Granger had been living at a memory care and assisted living facility in Fort Worth after she was found confused and disoriented near her home. Her district office had closed before Thanksgiving, its phones went to voicemail, and constituents received few answers about where their representative had gone.

Tarrant County Republican Chairman Bo French put it plainly at the time:

“The lack of representation for CD-12 is troubling to say the least. The margin in Congress is razor thin and the lack of a Republican vote representing CD-12 disenfranchises 2 million people. We deserve better.”

Granger’s office disputed part of that reporting, saying she had moved into an independent living facility rather than a memory care unit. Her son acknowledged, late that year, that she had experienced “some dementia issues.”

Her office released a statement explaining why she could no longer travel regularly to Washington:

“As many of my family, friends, and colleagues have known, I have been navigating some unforeseen health challenges over the past year. 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 was hardly the only prominent official whose health became a public issue. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) had suffered alarming freezes in front of television cameras. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) died while still in office. And, as RedState reported, an investigation later found that former President Joe Biden’s cognitive decline was considerably worse than his White House had acknowledged.

Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker remembered Granger on Sunday as a mentor whose career changed both the city and Texas politics.

“Over the years that I worked with Kay, I learned from her indelible spirit, work ethic, constant sacrifice, and unwavering commitment to Texas and Fort Worth. I’m fortunate to have called her a mentor and friend. To Kay’s family, my prayers are with you. What a lady, and the end of an era in political service.”

Parker called it the end of an era. Granger’s record backs that up: 14 terms in Congress, 25 years on Appropriations, and a string of firsts for Republican women in Texas. The ending was less admirable. Her constituents lost their vote in the House and waited too long for an explanation.

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