After nearly five months without casting a vote, the case of absentee congresswoman Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) appears to have been solved.
In an investigation published on Friday, The Dallas Express revealed that it had found that the outgoing legislator was living at an assisted living home in Fort Worth, Texas.
The paper made its discovery while trying to track down Granger, 81, to learn how she was voting on a contentious stop-gap spending billwhich had put factions of the Republican party at odds with one another.
Granger has represented Texas’ 12th Congressional District since 1997 and is set to retire from her role at the end of this term.
Looking into the congressional roll call, the outlet found that the former mayor of Fort Worth’s last vote in Washington, D.C., was on July 24.
After unsuccessful attempts to contact both Granger’s D.C. and district offices by phone, reporters paid a visit to the congresswoman’s Fort Worth headquarters where they “found the door locked, front door glass window covered, no one inside, and no sign of the office continuing to be occupied.”
Employees at the office complex then told The Dallas Express that Granger’s team “had packed up and closed the office before Thanksgiving.”
The vacant office space led reporters to pursue a tip claiming the congresswoman has been living at a local memory care and assisted living home for “some time.”
During a visit to Fort Worth’s Tradition Senior Living, two employees told reporters she was living there. The residence’s assistant executive director, Taylor Manziel, subsequently confirmed Granger was in their care, telling The Dallas Express, “This is her home.”
Following the release of the investigation, Granger’s family shed some light on the congresswoman’s extended absence from the House, telling The Dallas Morning News she has been “having some dementia issues late in the year.”
Her son, Brandon Granger, disputed claims that his mother had been placed in the facility’s memory care unit, however, claiming she was residing in the independent living section of Tradition Senior Living.
“It’s been a hard year,” her son said.
In a separate statement from Granger’s office, representatives told The Dallas Morning News her health issues had made travel to the capital “both difficult and unpredictable.”
“As many of my family, friends, and colleagues have known, I have been navigating some unforeseen health challenges over the past year,” the statement said.
HuffPost has reached out to Granger’s office for further comment.
While she missed months of votes in the House, the outgoing congresswoman was able to attend an event celebrating her tenure on the House Appropriations Committee in Washington, D.C., in mid-November.
“As my time in Congress comes to an end, I feel fulfilled and depart with optimism that this chamber will continue to serve the best interests of the American people,” she reportedly said at the time.
