The true story behind Texas Rep. Kay Granger’s disappearance from DC

The political beltway over the weekend was upended by a bombshell report that Texas Rep. Kay Granger had been absent from the public eye for nearly six months, only to be discovered at an independent living facility.

The longtime pol, who was elected to Texas’ 12th District in 1997, has not cast a vote since July — though the lower chamber was on recess throughout August and October — sparking outrage that her team has not been upfront about her health.

Granger’s family and team have since confirmed that the 81-year-old rep is indeed at an independent living facility but denied reports that she is residing within the facility’s memory care unit. They also say she is showing signs of dementia since moving in.

Below is a breakdown of how the mystery surrounding the retiring rep — once the top House Republican on appropriations — and her whereabouts spun out of control.

Brandon Granger, the congresswoman’s son, told The Post that his mother has exhibited signs of dementia over the past three months since she’s moved into the facility.

He blasted reports that his mom ended up in a memory care facility after losing her wits as “a load of bulls–t” — saying she chose to move to the community of her own free will.

“They have a memory care facility there, but she’s in [an] independent living facility. It’s a nice condo. I helped her move in,” Brandon Granger told The Post.

Speculation over Kay Granger’s whereabouts initially came from a report by The Dallas Express — a publication run by her former primary opponent — claiming that she had gone missing for months and was in a memory care unit.

That report cited a social media post from a user tagged to Fort Worth, Texas, as well as two employees who “confirmed that Granger is indeed living at the facility.”

Brandon Granger did not say whether she had received treatment at the memory care unit, but noted her decline has been “very rapid and very difficult.”

A source outside Granger’s family who is familiar with the situation also told The Post that claims the Republican congresswoman is in the memory care unit are “categorically false.”

“In July, as she started preparing for the future for her retirement, she made the decision to downsize and move into this [new residence],” the source said. “Had she known that she would be unable to vote for the last few weeks of the session, she would have made different preparations.”

“As with most illnesses, it’s hard to predict,” the source added. “She has been in contact with leadership from the beginning, letting them know what was going on, and would have been happy to travel back to DC if they needed her for a specific vote, and they knew that.”

The source underscored that if Kay Granger, who was first elected to the lower chamber in 1997, retired in September then there would have been a special election and her constituents in Texas’s 12th congressional district would’ve been without key services.

Brandon Granger defended his mother’s decision to move to the facility.

“A lot of people there are younger than she is. A lot of them still work,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be around people she can spend time with, have a cocktail with.

“She just decided to retire. She’s 81,” he said.

A spokesperson for the retiring rep, Valerie Nelson, also said Kay Granger is not in a memory care unit, releasing a statement from the octogenarian.

“I am deeply grateful for the outpouring of care and concern over the past several days,” Kay Granger was quoted in the statement.

“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.”

In March, Kay Granger stepped down as chair of the powerful House Appropriations Committee and handed over the baton to Rep. Thomas Cole (R-Okla.)

She notably was not present to vote on funding the government during the most recent showdown over spending last week.

Kay Granger was most recently seen in public last month on Capitol Hill to attend a portrait unveiling in her honor.

GOP leaders, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) were in attendance. She also spoke at the event.

“It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve in the House of Representatives, particularly as a member of the House Appropriations Committee,” she said at the time, per a press release.

Fellow Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) voiced surprise on Sunday about claims that she was living in the facility.

“I wasn’t aware. I think there’s no doubt that a lot of us knew that she was gaining in age like a lot of members do. Sadly, some of these members wait until things have gone too far,” he told CBS News’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday.

Key figures at the DallasExpress have a history with Kay Granger.

The publication’s CEO Chris Putnam mounted a bitter primary challenge against the octogenarian in 2020. Putnam had been her first significant primary challenger since 2012 and later endorsed her in the general election.

“What am I going to do, ignore the story just because I ran a primary against her?” Putnam pondered to The Post when pressed about their past history. “I have no personal animus against her whatsoever. I actually think it’s incredibly sad.

“I just think that the right thing for her to have done was to quietly and gracefully resign and allow her successor to be appointed to her seat so the district continued to have representation.”

Meanwhile, Carlos Turcios, the reporter who broke the story on the retiring rep, had worked as an intern for her in 2021, The Post has confirmed via multiple records.

There are Facebook photos during the time of that reporter’s internship with Kay Granger in which he was seen next to Putnam.

Allies of Kay Granger have speculated about Turcios’ ties to Putnam during his time as an intern for the retiring Texas rep. The Post reached out to him for comment.

Yet during Putnam’s 2020 race against Granger, that reporter had been a supporter of the incumbent Texas rep.

“It’s gotten very toxic,” he told the New York Times, while a high school student, referring to Putnam. “He’s going to alienate a lot of independents, a lot of centrists.”

Putnam also shrugged off the photo of him and his future reporter who was an intern with Granger at the time.

“People go to club events and stuff all the time,” he said.

Putnam added that the DallasExpress had caught wind of Granger’s condition over a year ago, but refrained from going with the story at the time after seeing her out in public.

He also underscored the high staff turnover she weathered during her later years in Congress.

Congressman-elect Craig Goldman, who won the race to succeed Kay Granger, is set to get sworn into Congress next month.

The Post reached out to Goldman for comment.

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