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It’s the question on the minds of Republicans from Washington to Cowtown: Is one of Texas’ most powerful U.S. House members in political trouble?
Enough people think so that many in the GOP political class are bracing for Fort Worth to serve as the setting of the next nationalized battle between the party's establishment and rebellious conservative factions.
U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, the ranking Republican on the House Appropriations Committee, is running for reelection in her Fort Worth district. But at least one well-funded primary challenger has emerged: Chris Putnam, who shot out of the gate this fall with a burst of cash and accusations that Granger is not sufficiently loyal to President Donald Trump.
Unseating Granger would undoubtedly be a tall task — she’s a 12-term member of Congress who has been a force in Fort Worth politics since before she was mayor in the early 1990s.
. . . From her position on the Appropriations Committee, she spearheaded the development of the F-35 fighter plane, which is in part manufactured in Fort Worth’s Lockheed Martin plant, and a massive Fort Worth waterworks project called the Trinity River Vision Authority. Both the F-35 and the Trinity River project have come under heavy criticism for cost overruns. Granger has also withstood years of allegations that the TRVA, which has been run by her son J.D. Granger, is a source of nepotism.
A year ago, the Texas Republican delegation rallied behind her in a successful — but narrowly won — bid as the top Republican on the Appropriations Committee. The Appropriations Committee is where decisions are made on how the government spends money.
It is the most sought-after committee among members, and a leadership post like that of Granger’s is usually the capstone of a long Congressional career.
But her position on the Appropriations Committee cuts both ways. While she can argue that her status puts her in a unique position to help her district and Congress, she depleted her campaign accounts to get to that point.
As she vied for the role, she raised and distributed millions of dollars to House GOP efforts to win races elsewhere in the country. According to Federal Election Commission records, she has directly transferred over $3 million from her own campaign to the House GOP campaign arm since 2002. That sum does not include donations directly to colleagues and candidates, fundraisers she has hosted on behalf of colleagues and the National Republican Congressional Committee and money directly raised for the NRCC. Two Republicans who support Granger estimated the unknown sum to be millions more.
Once the top slot at the committee opened up, Granger escalated her fundraising, and that effort proved key in her victory last year. Now, as the ranking member, she has already transferred $435,000 to the NRCC this year alone.
- Earmarks.
- Political Action Committees (PACs) 2019 - 2020.
- JD Granger, Trinity River Vision Authority, Executive Director
