US Representative from Texas Kay Granger is reported to have moved into an assisted living facility in Fort Worth after suffering "unforeseen health challenges."

The North Texas representative has represented her district for 27 years and has been inducted into the Texas Women's Hall of Fame.

She was also the first female mayor of Ft. Worth and became the first Republican woman to represent Texas in the US House of Representatives

She announced last year that she wasn't going to run for office again in 2024, ostensibly because, she told CBS News, "It's time for the next generation to step up and take the mantle and be a strong and fierce representative for the people."

But now there have lately been rumors that she's not been well, culminating in a recent report from a Texas newspaper that she's in a Texas care facility and hasn't been in her Washington office for months.

On Sunday, her office released a statement saying that she's confronting "unforeseen health challenges" that have worsened in recent months.

Her son Brandon, who told The Dallas Morning News that the past year has been "a hard year," added that it was a surprise how quickly her health problems had worsened recently.

“They have a memory care facility there, but she’s in [an] independent living facility. It’s a nice condo. I helped her move in,” Brandon Granger told The New York Post.

Why hasn't she resigned?

One source told Fox News that she was needed because of the "paper-thin" majority Republicans have in the House.

The Post reported that "the [Washington] political beltway over the weekend was upended by a bombshell report" about Rep. Granger.

Ms. Granger's office said, "As many of my family, friends, and colleagues have known, I have been navigating some unforeseen health challenges over the past year," Granger said in the statement. "However, since early September, my health challenges have progressed making frequent travel to Washington both difficult and unpredictable. During this time, my incredible staff has remained steadfast, continuing to deliver exceptional constituent services, as they have for the past 27 years," in a statement to Fox News.

California Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna, in a post on X, took a somewhat less than sympathetic approach to Rep. Granger's illness.

"Kay Granger's long absence reveals the problem with a Congress that rewards seniority & relationships more than merit & ideas," he wrote. "We have a sclerotic gerontocracy. We need term limits. We need to get big money out of politics so a new generation of Americans can run and serve."

GardenLine