Unpacking Claims Texas US Rep. Kay Granger Is in Memory Care

Two weeks earlier than the 119th U.S. Congress started, a narrative started to flow into on-line that U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, a Republican from Texas who had missed votes since July 2024, had been “discovered” in a dementia care facility. For instance, the conservative X account Libs of TikTok posted the rumor on Dec. 21, 2024 (archived):

As of this writing, the put up had gained greater than 37 million views and 60,000 likes. Many individuals appeared to take the declare at face worth. “How is it not a criminal offense to haven’t disclosed her scenario,” an X person asked in response. “How might she be reelected to workplace if she could not even be discovered?” 

The declare additionally appeared on Reddit, in a post that prompt a cover-up, and on Facebook. Additional, Snopes readers searched “Is Kay Granger in a reminiscence care facility?”

The rumor originated with The Dallas Specific, a conservative web site that was launched in 2021 utilizing the title of an historically Black-run newspaper and that publishes “pink slime” news — information of poor high quality. In 2020, the newspaper’s CEO, Chris Putnam, unsuccessfully tried to unseat Granger within the Republican main election.

The Dallas Specific reported that Granger’s staff “had packed up and closed the workplace earlier than Thanksgiving.” The report cited an unnamed “constituent” who stated Granger was residing at a reminiscence care and assisted residing residence “after having been discovered wandering misplaced and confused in her former Cultural District/West seventh neighborhood.”

The outlet precisely reported that Granger solid her last vote on July 24, 2024, in keeping with the Workplace of the Clerk and her personal web site, which included a voting information web page that has since been taken down (archived).

Nonetheless, the report of the place she was residing was quickly contradicted by Granger’s son Brandon Granger in an interview he gave to The Dallas Morning News. He acknowledged that his mom, 81, had handled “dementia points,” however that she had been residing at Custom Senior Dwelling in Fort Value, a facility that features unbiased residing and reminiscence care services. Granger, he stated, was in unbiased residing.

Granger, who served 14 phrases in Congress, didn’t search reelection in 2024. In a written statement released to CNN, her workplace stated she had certainly been fighting well being points for a number of months:

I’m deeply grateful for the outpouring of care and concern over the previous a number of days. As lots of my household, mates, and colleagues have identified, I’ve been navigating some unexpected well being challenges over the previous yr. Nonetheless, since early September, my well being challenges have progressed making frequent journey to Washington each troublesome and unpredictable. Throughout this time, my workers has remained steadfast, persevering with to ship distinctive constituent providers, as they’ve for the previous 27 years.

Nonetheless, Granger visited Washington in November 2024 to attend a celebration of her management within the Appropriations Committee. Now we have contacted her workplace asking for extra particulars and can replace this report ought to we obtain a response.

Sources