Kay Granger, first Republican woman from Texas to serve in the House, ha…

Kay Granger, first Republican woman from Texas to serve in the House, has died at age 83

Kay Granger, who built a nearly three-decade congressional career defined by historic milestones and staunch advocacy for her home district, died Sunday at the age of 83, her son J.D. Granger said. Her death drew tributes from political figures across the nation who remembered her as a foundational figure in Texas politics and a barrier-breaking leader in Washington.

Granger’s journey to the halls of Congress followed an unconventional path. Born in Greenville, a Dallas suburb, to two public school teachers, she graduated from Texas Wesleyan University in 1965. Though she initially considered a career in fashion design, she followed her mother into teaching, working in the Birdville school district for nine years, teaching English literature and journalism. A divorce led to a career change; to earn more money, Granger worked from home selling insurance while her mother, Alliene Mullendore, who moved in after a stroke, helped keep an eye on the kids. Granger eventually built a successful insurance business that she managed for more than two decades. Reflecting on those years in a 2008 profile with The Hill, she said, “I was a high school teacher with three children, a 2-year and 6-month-old twins, and my husband left... It’s the reason I talk so much to working mothers ... You just fight your way through the day.”

From Fort Worth Mayor to Washington Trailblazer

Granger got her political start serving on Fort Worth’s zoning commission and then won office to the city council. She went on to win election as the city's first female mayor, serving from 1991 to 1995. Her “Code: Blue” programs included citizen patrol initiatives that halved the rampant crime rate and partnerships with the private sector that drew major businesses to the city, drawing national attention to her resuscitation of Fort Worth’s flagging economic fortunes.

In 1996, she was recruited by both parties to run for the U.S. House of Representatives after Democratic Rep. Pete Geren decided not to seek reelection. Running as a Republican, she defeated former Fort Worth Mayor Hugh Parmer by nearly 17 percentage points, taking office in 1997. She thus became the first Republican woman from Texas to serve in the House.

Upon entering Congress, she was named to an advisory board that consulted then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich and received seats on the Budget, House Oversight, and Transportation and Infrastructure committees, which she later resigned to accept a seat on the House Appropriations Committee. On the committee, she focused on defense spending, including championing the production of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in Fort Worth, which Lockheed Martin Corp. Assembles in her former district.

Chairing Appropriations Amid House Turmoil

Granger steadily climbed the ranks of the spending panel, serving as the top Republican on the committee from 2018 to 2024 after winning a heated five-way contest in 2018. When Republicans took charge of the House in 2023, she became the committee’s full chairwoman, becoming the first Republican woman to lead the powerful spending committee. Alongside Senate counterparts Patty Murray and Susan Collins, and House colleague Rosa DeLauro, Granger became part of the first group of four women to lead the appropriations panels.

Her tenure as chairwoman coincided with a rocky time for House Republicans, who faced a slim majority and a historic overthrow of Speaker Kevin McCarthy in the fall of 2023. Granger emerged as a key player during the conference's efforts to find a new leader, withholding support from House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan on the House floor alongside a handful of other longtime appropriators. As chair, she also sought to enact steeper non-defense spending cuts than the top-line numbers House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden agreed to as part of avoiding an economically disastrous government default. Granger ultimately stepped down as chairwoman in March 2024 after wrapping up fiscal 2024 spending bills, handing over leadership to Tom Cole.

Health Challenges and Final Months

Granger announced she would not run for reelection in November 2023. In the final months of her congressional service, she experienced worsening health challenges. According to a statement her office released in December 2024, frequent travel to Washington had become “both difficult and unpredictable” since early September of that year, and she didn’t cast a vote in Washington after July 2024 without specifying the exact health challenges, though Roll Call reported she was suffering from dementia during that final year.

Tributes poured in following the announcement of her death. House Speaker Mike Johnson posted on X that Granger was a “dear friend who will be greatly missed” and noted that throughout her career, she “broke barriers for women in public service.” House Appropriations ranking member Rosa DeLauro praised her steady leadership and deep belief in the importance of Congress fulfilling its constitutional responsibility. Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker, a former Granger aide, remembered her mentor as “a trailblazer and tenacious leader.” Other Texas lawmakers, including Sens. Ted Cruz and U.S. Representatives Roger Williams, Craig Goldman, and Jake Ellzey, alongside Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare, also issued statements honoring her.