Summary
Texas Republican Congresswoman Kay Granger, 81, has not voted in the US House since July while reportedly dealing with dementia and living in a senior facility.
Her absence, undisclosed until media investigation, raises concerns about representation in her district and her capacity to serve.
Granger, a long-time legislator and former House Appropriations chair, announced plans to retire in 2025.
Critics argue her condition may have impacted her 2022 re-election. Local Republicans called her absence troubling amid critical votes, prompting broader debates on aging lawmakers’ transparency and governance.
Age is more arbitrary than is the result of a cognitive evaluation.
Cognitive evaluation looks like:
Bernie Sanders = Dementia
Trump = Totally fine and nothing wrong
-Sincerely, the totally unbiased psychologist
More arbitrary but less abusable. One is allied evenly to all people, regardless of people’s opinions or views. The other can be changed and manipulated in a way that knocks out political opponents.
I agree that cognitive ability is more important to me than a person’s age. I live with that observation every day with my parents. They are both around 80, and I would argue my mom is almost as sharp as she ever was; I have no concerns about her decision making. However, my dad is struggling more and more all the time; he’s shown decline for many years now and is at the point we’re not comfortable with him making many decisions or taking on complex tasks. A rule applied to one would not be equally appropriate for the other.
However, if we implement something, I would rather it be a rule that we can apply to all. I don’t trust the government to consistently and reasonably apply cognitive tests that don’t introduce bias.