Kay Granger, former chair of the House Appropriations Committee, died on Aug. 2, aged 83, less than two years after she retired.
Granger, the first Republican woman from Texas to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, served from 1997 until 2024.
Shortly after her death was announced by one of her sons, J.D. Granger, House Speaker Mike Johnson led tributes to her.
“Throughout her career, she broke barriers for women in public service. She was the first woman to serve as Mayor of Fort Worth, the first Republican woman elected to represent Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the first Republican woman to chair the House Appropriations Committee,” Johnson wrote in an Aug. 3 post on X. “She was a dear friend who will be greatly missed.”
The current mayor of Fort Worth, Mattie Parker, referred to Granger as a “trailblazer.”
“Over the years that I worked with Kay, I learned from her indelible spirit, work ethic, constant sacrifice, and unwavering commitment to Texas and Fort Worth,” Parker wrote in a post on X. “I’m fortunate to have called her a mentor and friend.”
Granger graduated from Texas Wesleyan University in 1965 and worked as a teacher in the Birdville school district for nine years, teaching English literature and journalism, according to a profile compiled for the publication “Women in Congress, 1917-2006,” before she got a divorce and changed careers.
“I was a high school teacher with three children, a 2-year-old and six-month-old twins, and my husband left. I was making $13,000 a year,” Granger told The Hill in 2008. “It’s the reason I talk so much to working mothers … you just fight your way through the day.”
She then worked from home selling insurance, built a successful business which she ran for two decades before moving into politics. Granger was elected mayor of Fort Worth, Texas, in 1991 and served for four years, halving the city’s crime rate and drawing several major businesses to the area.
In November 1996, she was elected to the House of Representatives, representing the 12th District of Texas. She was named to an advisory board that consulted then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and was put on three key committees: Budget, House Oversight, and Transportation and Infrastructure.
Granger later resigned from those seats when she was offered a place on the Appropriations Committee.
Reelected 13 Times
She was reelected 13 times, and when the Republicans took charge of the House in January 2023, Granger was chosen as chair of the Appropriations Committee. She said at the time that she was humbled by the appointment.
“For over two decades, I’ve worked to ensure that taxpayer money is used responsibly and that our military has the resources it needs to protect the American people,” Granger said.
In her letter, Ms. Granger reminisced about her journey from serving as the mayor of Fort Worth to her election to Congress.
“Serving as Mayor was a job I loved, and I had to think long and hard about whether I wanted to leave it,” she wrote to the speaker. “I prayed and I thought through the decision very carefully. I ultimately decided I wanted to serve in Congress and contribute to the success of the greatest nation on earth.”
Granger, who did not cast a vote in Washington after July 2024, was succeeded by Craig Goldman, who was a former majority leader in the Texas House of Representatives.
