Texas’ Rep. Kay Granger steps down as US House Appropriations chair
U.S. Rep. Kay Granger announced Friday that she is giving up the House Appropriations Committee gavel, accelerating a loss of Texas clout on Capitol Hill.
The 81-year-old Fort Worth Republican announced last year that she would retire after 14 terms, ending a career in which Granger fought for robust national security funding that often benefited defense contractors in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
That included her advocacy for weapons systems such as the F-35 fighter jet built at Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth facility.
She also secured funding for a host of significant initiatives around the district, such as the $1.1 billion Trinity River Vision/ Central City flood control project.
“I have accomplished more than I ever could have imagined,” Granger said in a statement Friday.
Her announcement came shortly after the House passed the second and final round of fiscal 2024 spending bills, which were supposed to be completed six months ago.
She noted in her statement the appropriations process in election years typically drags on well past the fall deadlines.
Granger said she’s stepping aside now to ensure a seamless transition to the new chair before work on the next round of spending bills begins in earnest.
She said she plans to remain on the committee to offer advice to her colleagues. Granger became the first Republican woman from Texas elected to the U.S. House in 1996.
She has held office longer than any other woman, or Texan, in the House GOP conference.
She became chair of the powerful committee last year but under the party’s leadership term limits would have been required to give up the spot next year because of her previous time as the ranking member of the panel.
She has faced criticism from some hardright conservatives in the district who objected to her support for spending bills they said contribute to the national debt and her opposition last year to the speaker bid by U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.
Fort Worth businessman John O’Shea and state Rep. Craig Goldman are in the Republican primary runoff on May 28 to replace Granger.
The winner will face homeless housing coordinator Trey Hunt in the November election for the solidly Republican 12th Congressional District, which includes parts of Tarrant and Parker counties.