Rep. Kay Granger steps from shadows to the spotlight with Pelosi rebuke
Rep. Kay Granger has made a career of wielding political power quietly and avoiding political spectacles.
But on Thursday, the Fort Worth lawmaker and longest-serving Republican woman in the House made herself the face of an extraordinary effort to rebuke House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for ripping up a copy of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech.
While Granger forced consideration of the measure, Democrats easily voted in favor of killing it, 224-193, along party lines.
Granger’s big day in the political cauldron came as a surprise to colleagues who know the veteran congresswoman as a no-nonsense, serious-minded legislator who, as the top Republican on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, enjoys good working relationships with Democrats.
Following the Thursday vote, Granger told reporters that she introduced the resolution because she thought Pelosi’s action “was disparaging, particularly those heroes the president talked about. The rip-up of the speech is also ripping up their careers.”
Granger referred to sections of the State of the Union address with uplifting stories of noteworthy Americans, such as a Tuskegee airman and a servicemember reunited with his family.
Her move on Thursday, however, comes at a unique time for the Texan. She is facing a Republican primary challenger, businessman Chris Putnam, who is questioning her conservative credentials.
Granger’s role on the Appropriations Committee, where she has supported compromise spending bills rather than taking hard-line stands, has made her a target for fiscal hawks.
Putnam has the backing of the conservative Club for Growth’s political action committee, which has already spent at least $1 million on his behalf on digital, television and print advertising. The group rolled out a new radio ad this week attacking her for supporting spending bills that didn’t eliminate funding for the Affordable Care Act, and for sharply criticizing Trump ahead of the 2016 election.
The Pelosi disapproval resolution — a vehicle for forcing vulnerable Democrats to go on record supporting the more controversial actions of their party — is exactly the type of red-meat political gesture Republicans across the country will want to show off to their political base.
When asked whether this was part of Granger’s consideration, Granger spokeswoman Sarah Flaim said that “honoring our American heroes and their families, and showing respect for those with whom you disagree, is not – and should never be — a partisan issue.
“Congresswoman Granger was appalled to see Speaker Pelosi rip up a document that contained the stories of Americans who served and sacrificed for our freedom,” she added.
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Florida, a fellow senior appropriator and close friend of Granger’s, also disputed that Granger was fearing her political future in introducing the resolution.
“Kay Granger doesn’t do things because it helps her politically,” he said. “Kay Granger doesn’t play games. Kay Granger is not a show person. She is the one you always go to when something has to get done. So the fact that she is on this resolution tells you, frankly, the seriousness of this issue … Nancy Pelosi dishonored the House, and the institution.”
Rep. Nita Lowey, D-New York, the appropriations committee chairwoman and a longtime close friend of Granger’s, said “no comment” when asked whether she was taken aback by the resolution.
But in the event Granger was hoping to score political points off the exercise, her opponent didn’t think voters would be impressed.
“No one is surprised that a 24-year liberal incumbent is trying to manipulate and distract voters from her liberal record. Now that she is facing defeat at the ballot box, she is trying to save herself, but it is too little too late,” Karin Dyer, Putnam’s campaign manager, wrote in an email.
The spat between the president and the Speaker of the House — the first and third ranking officials in the federal government -- began before Tuesday’s speech. They reportedly hadn’t spoken since mid-October, before the House impeached the president and called for the Senate to remove him from office.
Before the speech started Tuesday night, Pelosi reached out to the president for a handshake, and Trump turned his back on her.
Then, in a contentious speech, the president attacked the legacy of President Barack Obama, refused to give Democrats credit for bipartisan accomplishments and gave the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the highest award that can be given to a civilian — to conservative radio commentator Rush Limbaugh, who was in the audience.
Trump also recognized a surviving World War II veteran in the audience, a humanitarian worker who was killed by ISIS in Syria, a deceased Iraq veteran and an active duty Army sergeant who surprised his wife and two young children at the event.
Pelosi could be seen on national television during the State of the Union, seated behind the president and next to Vice President Mike Pence. She shook her head dismissively throughout the remarks while paging through a printed copy of the speech.
When the speech ended, congressional Republicans, and Pence, stood and applauded. Pelosi gathered her copy of the speech, ripped it up, and tossed it dismissively to the side.
Walking briskly past the journalists waiting in the hall outside the chamber, Pelosi told reporters, “It was the courteous thing to do, considering the alternative. It was a very dirty speech.”
Pelosi again defended herself in a press conference on Thursday, calling her action “dignified” and referring to Trump’s speech as “a manifesto of mistruths.”
Republican leaders and mainstream groups are sticking by Granger. The Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with House GOP leadership, has funded advertisements for her in Fort Worth.
House Republican leaders’ decision to let Granger lead the effort also signaled how the party establishment has her back.
A source familiar with leadership discussions surrounding the origins of the resolution told McClatchy that Minority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Louisiana, and Granger met early Wednesday morning and came up with the idea together.
The official Republican campaign arm also plans to back the incumbent congresswoman.
“It’s great to see Rep. Kay Granger holding Nancy Pelosi accountable for the speaker’s unhinged hatred of President Trump,” Chris Pack, communications director for the National Republican Congressional Committee, told McClatchy on Thursday.
Asked if Granger’s resolution would affect her upcoming primary challenge, Pack sent the same statement — this time adding a smiley face emoji.
This story was originally published February 6, 2020 at 3:12 PM.
