Kay Granger, first Republican woman from Texas elected to House, dies at 83

Kay Granger, a trailblazing Texas Republican, has died at 83. She was the first GOP woman from Texas in the U.S. House, the first female mayor of Fort Worth, and the first Republican woman to chair the powerful House Appropriations Committee. A staunch advocate for defense spending, including the F-35 jet, she served nearly three decades in Congress before announcing her retirement in 2023 amid health challenges including dementia.

Kay Granger death at 83

• ▪Kay Granger, the first Republican woman from Texas elected to the U.S. House, has died at the age of 83
• ▪House Speaker Mike Johnson announced Kay Granger's death on a Sunday via a social media post
• ▪In her final year, Kay Granger's family reported she was suffering from dementia, and she missed several months of votes after July 2024

House Appropriations Committee leadership

• ▪Kay Granger was part of the first group of four women to lead the congressional appropriations panels, along with Patty Murray, Susan Collins, and Rosa DeLauro
• ▪Kay Granger stepped down as Appropriations Committee chair in early 2024 and was succeeded by Rep. Tom Cole
• ▪Kay Granger served as the top Republican on the Appropriations Committee from 2018 to 2024, becoming chairwoman in 2023
• ▪Kay Granger was the first Republican woman to chair the powerful House Appropriations Committee

Fort Worth mayor career

• ▪As mayor of Fort Worth, Kay Granger's "Code: Blue" programs, which included citizen patrol initiatives, helped halve the city's crime rate
• ▪Before her congressional career, Kay Granger served as the first female mayor of Fort Worth, Texas, from 1991 to 1995

Congressional career trajectory

• ▪Kay Granger announced in late 2023 that she would not seek reelection for her House seat in 2024
• ▪Before entering politics, Kay Granger worked as a high school teacher for nine years and later built a successful insurance business as a single mother
• ▪Kay Granger was first elected to Congress in 1996, representing Texas’ 12th Congressional District for nearly three decades

Fiscal 2024 spending battles

• ▪As Appropriations chair, Kay Granger sought to enact non-defense spending cuts that were steeper than a deal agreed to by Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden
• ▪During the 2023 House Speaker race, Kay Granger was among a group of appropriators who opposed Jim Jordan's bid, leading to its failure

F-35 fighter jet advocacy

• ▪Kay Granger was a longtime advocate for the F-35 fighter jet program, which is assembled by Lockheed Martin in her former Fort Worth district
• ▪Prior to chairing the full Appropriations Committee, Kay Granger was the top Republican on both the Defense and State-Foreign Operations subcommittees