Kay Granger, first Republican woman to lead House Appropriations Committee, dies at 83

• Kay Granger, the first Republican woman to chair the US House Appropriations Committee, died at age 83 after battling health challenges.
• She served Texas in Congress from 1997 to 2025 and was known for her leadership on spending legislation.
• Granger was praised as a trailblazer who broke barriers for women and earned respect across party lines.

NEW YORK – Kay Granger, a Texas Republican who was the first woman from her party to chair the US House of Representatives’ powerful Appropriations Committee, has died, her son J.D. Granger confirmed to Reuters on Aug 2. She was 83.

No cause of death was given. Kay Granger in 2024 said she was battling “unforeseen health challenges”.

Granger represented her Texas district in Congress from 1997 to 2025. In 2023, Granger announced she would not seek re-election to the US House of Representatives.

In her final term as a lawmaker, Granger chaired the House Appropriations Committee for more than a year, putting her in charge of spending legislation and making her one of the most influential members of Congress.

House Speaker Mike Johnson praised Granger as a trailblazer.

“Throughout her career, she broke barriers for women in public service,” Johnson said, noting that she was the first female mayor of Fort Worth and the first Republican woman elected to represent Texas in the US House.

She was the first Republican woman to lead the budget panel, although two Democratic women, representatives Nita Lowey and Rosa DeLauro, preceded Granger in the role.

“At every step of her career, (Granger) earned the respect of members on both sides of the aisle through her steady leadership and deep belief in the importance of Congress fulfilling its constitutional responsibility to invest in the American people,” DeLauro said in a statement on Aug 2. REUTERS