Former Texas Rep. Kay Granger dies at 83

Kay Granger, the Fort Worth Republican who became the first woman from her party to lead the House Appropriations Committee, died at 83. House Speaker Mike Johnson confirmed her death in a Sunday evening X post, calling her a lawmaker of “relentless devotion” to Fort Worth and Texas and saying she “broke barriers for women in public service.”

Granger’s career put North Texas at the center of some of Congress’s most consequential money fights. Reuters described her as the first Republican woman to chair the U.S. House Appropriations Committee, the panel that steers federal spending bills and shapes defense, domestic programs and the leverage that comes with controlling the purse strings. Congress.gov lists her service in Congress from 1997 to 2025, a span that covered nearly three decades and, by several counts, 14 terms in Washington.

Before Congress, Granger built her political standing in Fort Worth, where she was elected the city’s first female mayor in 1991 and served until 1995. She entered public life after working as a high school teacher and businesswoman, a background that helped define her as a practical, local power broker rather than a national figurehead. In Texas Republican politics, her ascent also marked an early and durable example of women advancing in a party that for years was dominated by men in statewide and congressional leadership.

Her long tenure eventually brought both influence and scrutiny. In March 2025, Granger stepped down as the top Republican on Appropriations and said she would not seek re-election. By late 2024, reporting had described her as absent from the Capitol and later living in an assisted-living facility, prompting questions about how her health problems were handled publicly. CBS Texas noted that Granger drew praise for her record but also criticism over the disclosure of those challenges, while Texas GOP chair Abraham George said he would have preferred more transparency even as he praised her service.

Tributes quickly followed her death. Rosa DeLauro, the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said she was deeply saddened by Granger’s passing. Other lawmakers, including August Pfluger, Lisa McClain and Sen. Ted Cruz, also marked her death, underscoring the reach Granger had built across party lines and through the spending committee that helped define her career.