U.S. Rep. Kay Granger announced Wednesday that she will not seek reelection to the seat she has held since 1997.
Granger, 80, the longest-serving member of the Texas delegation in Congress, has pushed the envelope for women in politics in Texas. She was the first Republican woman from Texas elected to the U.S. House.
Her longevity propelled her to the chairmanship of the powerful House Appropriations Committee when Republicans retook the House in last year’s election. She previously served for four years as ranking member of that committee, while Democrats had majority control of the House.
Prior to running for Congress, she served as Fort Worth’s first female mayor.
She is regarded as one of the most powerful members of Congress.
“I have always fought to improve the lives of my constituents,” she said in a statement announcing her decision. “As the first female Mayor of Fort Worth, first Republican United States Congresswoman from Texas, and the first female Republican Appropriations Chair, I have been able to accomplish more in this life than I could have imagined, and I owe it all to my incredible family, staff, friends, and supporters.”
Granger said she intends to serve the remainder of her 14th two-year term in Congress, which ends in January 2025.
A source told the Fort Worth Business Press that Granger’s decision against seeking reelection may hinge on the fact that she will have served her maximum six years in a House leadership role by the end of her current term. In order for her to continue in a leadership role she would need a wavier, which is difficult to obtain due to House rules.
“It would be hard for her to go from appropriations chair to a rank-and-file member of the GOP conference,” the source said.
With Lockheed Martin and other aerospace and defense contractors located within the 12th Congressional District she represents, Granger has always been a strong supporter of defense spending, particularly the F-35 fighter jets produced at Lockheed’s Fort Worth assembly plant.
She is also known as an architect and champion of the $1.1 billion Panther Island project that supporters say will provide enhanced flood control protection to a former industrial area of Fort Worth north of the Tarrant County Courthouse and also promote economic development along the Trinity River.
The project was initiated two decades ago and Granger continually pushed for federal funding that was authorized but was slow in arriving. Last year, the project was awarded $403 million, the lion’s share of the $526 million in federal funding authorized for it by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The funding came from the Biden administration’s infrastructure law which, like most congressional Republicans, Granger did not support.
Despite her advocacy of spending for defense and Panther Island, Granger has maintained a conservative posture toward government spending in other areas. She vehemently opposed a massive federal funding billlast year as filled with wasteful spending, despite support from Democrats and Senate Republicans.
She also capped appropriations in the current cycle at spending levels for the 2022 fiscal year, despite an agreement between House Republican leadership and the Democratic White House to keep spending at current levels.
Although she has mostly avoided serious reelection challenges, Granger has faced Republican primary opponents and Democrats from time-to-time. In 2020, she faced a well-funded primary challenger, Chris Putnam, who tried to defeat her by clinging to the coattails of former President Donald Trump.
But it was Granger who received the endorsement from Trump and she beat Putnam by 16 percentage points.
Granger was one of 20 House Republicans who opposed U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, a staunch ally of Trump, in his unsuccessful bid to become Speaker of the House. She eventually joined 219 other Republicans in electing U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana as speaker.
Granger’s district is solidly Republican and is expected to produce a Republican successor. Multiple candidates are expected to enter the race, including Texas State Rep. Craig Goldman of Fort Worth.
In a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, Goldman praised Granger as “a trailblazer in so many respects … Kay, we look forward to welcoming you back home full time to the city you love and have served so well.”
Democratic political strategist Matt Angle said Granger’s retirement is a “big blow for Tarrant County and Texas. There is no one on the Republican side who can replace her.”
Following is Granger’s complete statement announcing her decision to not seek reelection:
“Today I am announcing that I will not seek reelection to the United States House of Representatives in 2024. Serving my community has been the greatest honor, and I have always fought to improve the lives of my constituents. As the first female Mayor of Fort Worth, first Republican United States Congresswoman from Texas, and the first female Republican Appropriations Chair, I have been able to accomplish more in this life than I could have imagined, and I owe it all to my incredible family, staff, friends, and supporters. The United States of America is the greatest country in the world because of our people and the vision of our Founding Fathers who created a nation that ensures every man, woman and child has the opportunity to succeed.
“As I announce my decision to not seek reelection, I am encouraged by the next generation of leaders in my district. It’s time for the next generation to step up and take the mantle and be a strong and fierce representative for the people.
“Although I am not running for reelection, I plan to serve out the remainder of my term and work with our new Speaker and my colleagues to advance our conservative agenda and finish the job I was elected to do.”
This story includes information from The Texas Tribune.