https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kay_Granger
“On October 30, 2023, Granger confirmed that she would not run for re-election in 2024.[18] On March 22, 2024, she announced that she would be stepping down as chair of the House Appropriations Committee as soon as the Republican Steering Committee chose her replacement,[19] which took place on April 10.[20] Her last recorded vote was on July 24, 2024.[21] She participated in a ceremony celebrating her work on Appropriations in mid-November 2024.[22]”
Yeah, this all seems relatively normal. Clickbait headline is definitely trying to imply that a serving Representative can just disappear into assisted living, where this woman systematically wrapped up her duties and stepped aside (if not down). Texas leaves election-year House vacancies to be filled by the election.
Why would the family not say where she is? Privacy. No one wants to advertise the medical status of family members.
The important part is that she’s still officially a member of Congress. People voted for her to represent their interests. If she’s no longer able to fulfill that duty she should have stepped down and let someone else do it. As it stands she and her staff are still collecting salaries paid by the American people. It’s also if interest because of the general tend of geritocracy - our elected officials are really old, and it calls into question the decisions they’re making and their ability to lead.
The fact that Kay Granger is unable to leave her nursing home to participate in the most important congressional vote of the year suggests she was already in visible decline when she ran for re-election in 2022. - State Republican Executive Committeeman Rolando Garcia
She is still a member of the Texas state legislature but is incapable of performing her duties. Instead of stepping down and being replaced, she stopped showing up for votes, stopped answering her phone messages, closed her offices, and checked into a memory care unit where she is unable, or unwilling, to speak to the press or apparently anyone else.
In what world is this “relatively normal”?
She is a member of the US House of Representatives, not Texas State Legislature.
I misread that. Thanks for pointing it out. That, if anything, makes it even worse.
I wasn’t really a fan of term limits before but now I am because these people cannot be trusted to retire before their brains turn to mush.
I mean, she probably forgot. Hence being in the memory care unit.
Sure, but even if she had formally resigned, Texas would not have replaced her. TFA says her offices are abandoned, so likely no staff getting paid. She, herself may or may not be getting paid, but as near as I can tell, a congress person drawing 5 months of salary while being hospitalized out of DC is a pretty low level shitty-politician behavior. Besides, she’ll be collecting probably 80% of that salary as pension, anyway.
She announced she was not seeking re election last year and her replacement has already been elected. She was basically a lame duck.
Lame duck representatives still have the power and duty to vote on legislation!
Seriously? She completely disappeared and stopped representing her constituents but is still being paid for that job. She didn’t wrap up her duties or step down, she just closed all the offices and left without a trace. To imply the title is clickbait is a straight-up lie, or maybe reading comprehension just isn’t your strong suit, but either way there is nothing “normal” about this aside from the fact that Republicans are just total dogshit people as a rule.
Nah, she was a missing GOP congresswoman- you’ll never believe where she has been found
read the articles? in this economy?
It remains unclear why Granger’s relatives or staff declined to disclose her condition to the public.
Half of our reps are like this. I saw something or other where an American was interviewing people in the UK (I think, can’t recall for certain) about our politics, and this older gentleman commented on how old our politicians are. If the guy with white hair thinks so, I feel pretty validated. Get these geriatric fucks out of here. They won’t have to live with the consequences of their votes. Put in people with skin in the game.
I just looked it up.: The median age of voting House lawmakers is 57.9 years, down from 58.9 in the 117th Congress (2021-22), 58.0 in the 116th (2019-20) and 58.4 in the 115th (2017-18). The new Senate’s median age, on the other hand, is 65.3 years, up from 64.8 in the 117th Congress, 63.6 in the 116th and 62.4 in the 115th.
She’s been subject to a massive corruption probe, so she might be pulling a Pinochet.
When the government isn’t looking, let’s put all of the old fogies in charge into a home and tell them that they’re still in power.
Call the facility “the house”
Man that title really read like an Onion article at first glance, crazy how that’s a real news story.
Not really. I’m thinking of Dianne Feinstein who literally ended up being escorted everywhere with a gaggle of staff to keep the press from asking her questions.
Boomers are the most selfish and entitled generation.
Better get used to it.
“I’m a Senator, call the Secret Service right now!”
“Sure you are, we’ll call them right after your jello.”
Amd those were the good days.
She should run for Prez.
This will become an urban legend and mutate with each retelling, at first becoming about there being dozens of serving congresspeople actually in care homes, then half of congress, and finally, Joe Biden having spent his lame-duck months this way.
really hate how ageism has become mainstream these days… especially when there’s so many shitty politicians under 50.
There are some government jobs that have mandatory retirement at a certain age (usually 65)-- is that ageism? I also don’t believe the majority of 80+ people are capable of understanding the modern needs of most of the country.
the majority of 80+ people
A case by case judgement should be made.
Also, some of this may become increasingly moot as breakthroughs come.
I’ll be against agism aimed at our ruling class when we stop living in a fucking gerontocracy. This isn’t even the first us Congress critter to have this kind of a spotlight, and rightly goddamned so.
I don’t care how many shitty sub-50 politicians there are when we’re discussing politicians that are so goddamned old they can’t even do their job. Shit like this and Diane ‘hiding totally-not-dementia with the constant escort’ Feinstein need to stop, along with Mitch ‘grandpa rebooted again’ McConnell.
How many crypt keepers need to die in office before we acknowledge that these people are too fucking old?!?! Hell, look at the current president/president elect: two fucking dementia riddled idiots.
Same. It’s about the capabilities of the person.
Also, this may become increasingly silly, and won’t, ahem, age all that well as a position to have on politicians if/when life extension starts to come online/become more prominent.
I’ll respect the anti-ageists when they acknowledge that discrimination against young people is ageism.
This boggled my mind from the moment I first learned of it
