Congresswoman's Decline Puts Age Back in the Spotlight

The weekend's surprise story about 81-year-old congresswoman Kay Granger of Texas has once again put the issue of lawmakers' ages front and center. New details have since emerged about Granger, who has not cast a vote in the House since July:

• Dementia: Her son tells the Dallas Morning News that his mother has been having "some dementia issues late in the year." She is now living in the Tradition Senior Living facility in Fort Worth.
• A complaint: Brandon Granger, however, disputes the narrative that his mother is in a "memory care" facility. While her new home has a memory care unit, she resides in its independent living facility, he says.
• Rapid decline: Still, he tells the New York Post that his mother's decline has been "very rapid and very difficult" over the last three months in particular.

• Her statement: Granger's office, meanwhile, issued a statement from her: "As many of my family, friends, and colleagues have known, I have been navigating some unforeseen health challenges over the past year," it reads. "However, since early September, my health challenges have progressed making frequent travel to Washington both difficult and unpredictable. During this time, my staff has remained steadfast, continuing to deliver exceptional constituent services, as they have for the past 27 years."
• Context: Granger is one of 23 members of Congress at least 80 years old, notes Politico, with the oldest being Sen. Chuck Grassley at 91. Granger, elected in 1996, was already set to retire at the end of the year before these new developments were made public. She had been chair of the House Appropriations Committee until stepping down from the post in April.
• Reaction: Granger's story illustrates that the public "is entitled to far greater transparency about the health of the elected officials who represent them," said Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres, per Axios. The sentiment was a common one: "We have a sclerotic gerontocracy," wrote Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna. "We need term limits. We need to get big money out of politics so a new generation of Americans can run and serve." GOP Rep. Thomas Massie snarked, "I'm more concerned about the congressmen who have dementia and are still voting."

(More Congress stories.)