The Washington Post reports:

Revelations that Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) has been residing at an independent living facility for seniors and is experiencing dementia symptoms while missing months of votes have renewed a national discussion about Washington’s aging leaders.

Granger, 81, left her post as chair of the powerful House Appropriations Committee in March after announcing last year that she would retire at the end of this congressional term. She has been “having some dementia issues late in the year,” her son Brandon Granger told the Dallas Morning News on Sunday and confirmed to The Washington Post. A conservative outlet in Texas revealed Friday that Granger had been living in a facility for seniors in Fort Worth and that her office had not publicly disclosed the move or reason for her absence from Washington.

“As many of my family, friends, and colleagues have known, I have been navigating some unforeseen health challenges over the past year,” the congresswoman said in a statement shared by her office on Tuesday. “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.”

The statement said Granger returned to Washington in November to oversee the closure of her office and thank her staff. She downsized from her home in Texas and moved into an apartment at an independent living facility, according to a person familiar with her situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share details.

Her situation has reanimated a simmering debate over the health and mental acuity of aging elected officials, with several of Granger’s colleagues calling for changes and voicing alarm about the nation’s oldest leaders. [Continue reading…]