With the hyper-viral Dallas Express exclusive story exposing that Rep. Kay Granger has been residing in a senior care facility and hasn’t voted in Congress since last July ricocheting around the world this past weekend, many reporters and pundits have started to ask: When did Congresswoman Kay Granger first start showing signs of memory loss and other dementia symptoms?
The Dallas Express team reached out Grangers staff, campaign staff, and family members to ask them to clarify when Ms. Granger started showing signs of memory loss and dementia. DX did not receive a response.
In an attempt to gain answers, our team visited Granger’s son, JD Granger, at his new restaurant, Crystal Springs Hideaway. When we arrived, Mr. Granger immediately informed us that we were not welcome, stating, “I have no space for you in my life,” Granger said.
“Right now, I’m about to kick your motherf*****g ass, so get the f**k out of my property,” Granger told the Dallas Express team.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the DX team visited the assisted living facility to verify whether Granger was residing there and to ask how she planned to vote on the spending bill. This after phone calls went unanswered and her office appeared to be un-staffed and vacated. Upon arrival, two employees confirmed that Ms. Granger was living at the facility. However, DX was not allowed to conduct an interview about the ongoing spending debate in the House of Representatives or ask how or if Rep. Granger planned to vote.
Also as previously reported, the Congresswoman has not taken a vote since this past July, including on the contentious recent spending bill.
Brandon Granger, the son of Kay Granger, shared with The Dallas Morning News on December 22, “It’s been a hard year,” noting that he was taken aback by how rapidly his mother’s health problems have developed, mentioning that his mother has been “having some dementia issues late in the year.”
But on-background sources have said Ms. Granger started experiencing symptoms of dementia much earlier than her son has claimed, even while she was the chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee.
The committee is considered to be the one most powerful in Congress as it is responsible for “legislation allocating funds prior to expenditure from the treasury,” according to Govtrack.
Granger was the Chair of the House Appropriations Committee from January 3, 2023-April 10, 2024 and announced that she was stepping down from that role this past March.
“As I reflect on my time in the House of Representatives and more than 5 years as Ranking Member and now Chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, I realize I have accomplished more than I ever could have imagined,” Granger wrote in a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, reported Texas Tribune.
In April 2023, a senior Granger staffer tipped off the The Dallas Express that Ms. Granger was already struggling with memory issues, and provided the date and time of an an appointment she had scheduled at the Brian Institute in Dallas to be evaluated. The DX reporter witnessed Ms. Granger exit a car and enter the facility.
Additionally, investigative journalist Ken Klippenstein examined Granger’s property records and found that she transferred the deed to her home on July 9, 2023, for just $10.
Some CD12 residents have reacted to the lack of transparency surrounding Ms. Granger’s condition and living situation.
“As a lifelong resident of Tarrant County I find it shocking that our US Representative is in a Senior Care care unit in Fort Worth, and the constituents haven’t even been notified! I understand that she didn’t seek re-election but she is still the sitting rep until January 3rd 2025. The taxpayers deserve answers!” Larry Carpenter Jr. told The Dallas Express.
The Granger scandal has garnered attention from elected officials, some of which have called for an investigation.
“It has come to my attention that the Honorable Norvell Kay Granger (R-Forth Worth) who has represented the 12th Congressional district in Washington DC since 1997, may have recently suffered mental health issues that would have required her staff members to IMMEDIATELY REPORT AND SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION FOR HER YEARS AGO! I ask for a full investigation of any health professional that may have “cleared” her to resume “normal work duties” and A COMPLETE AND THOROUGH INVESTIGATION OF HER DISTRICT AND DC STAFF to analyze WHAT THEY KNEW,” Rep. J.M. Lozano (R-Kingsville) posted on X.
The Dallas Express reached out to Granger’s Chief of Staff Stephen Ruhlen, Director of Casework Josie Flores, Senior Legislative Assistant Jerome A. Vainisi II, Director of Communications Valerie Nelson, Executive Assistant John Walker, Deputy Chief of Staff Charlie Cripliver, and Campaign Manager Hillary Shepheard for comment, but did not receive a response.