Washington — Rep. Tom Kean Jr., a New Jersey Republican who has been absent from public view for months because of an undisclosed health issue, is expected to return to Capitol Hill on Tuesday.
Kean, who is seeking a third term in a closely watched and competitive district, has not cast a vote since March 5. His absence has left him missing more than 140 votes at a time when House Republican leaders are working with a narrow margin to move their agenda forward.
As questions grew about where Kean had been, House Speaker Mike Johnson said he spoke with the congressman by phone on April 24. Johnson said Kean was “attending to a personal health matter and expects to be back to 100% very soon.” Weeks later, the Louisiana Republican told reporters that Kean “sounded good and optimistic” during that call, while also noting, “I don’t even know the details” of his condition.
Kean’s first public statement on his absence came in late April, when the congressman said he was addressing a “personal medical issue.”
Kean addressed the matter in an April 27 statement but did not specify what he was dealing with. “My doctors continue to assure me that my recovery will be complete and that I will be back to the job I love very soon,” the statement said. “I expect to return to a full schedule and be at 100 percent.”
The lack of specifics, combined with later comments from his staff and relatives, only intensified the uncertainty surrounding his prolonged absence.
“There’s no cameras where Tom is,” his chief of staff told the New York Times, declining to provide further details.
Kean’s father, former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean Sr., offered a limited explanation in a May 15 interview with NJ.com, saying his son’s illness was “serious” but temporary. He said the congressman was receiving care from a doctor away from home and added that “he’ll be out in two or three weeks.”
“It took a real illness to knock him out,” the elder Kean told CNN in a separate May 15 interview. “This won’t linger. It’s not some kind of disease that’s going to incapacitate him in the future. The consensus is that he will be 100% OK.”
Still, Kean’s social media accounts continued to post in the first person. He also introduced legislation and digitally signed congressional disclosure documents about his stock trades. The electronic signatures were dated March 18, April 13 and May 22.
In a May 21 phone interview with the New Jersey Globe, Kean said his doctors “are confident that I’m on the road to a full recovery” and that he understood “the need for public transparency.”
He issued another statement via his campaign on June 2, the day of his primary in which he ran unopposed.
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“Right now I am focused on my recovery and under the advice of healthcare professionals, I will transition from virtual work to in person work within a matter of weeks. At that time I will be completely transparent as to the nature of my medical condition,” Kean said.
When asked how it was acceptable for a member of Congress to be absent for months without giving further explanation, Johnson said “it’s not a scandalous thing at all.”
“I do know what his health issue is but he’s asked me not to disclose that and I’m going to honor that,” Johnson said at a news conference on June 3. “What he’s dealing with is not very common and not a big thing.”
“When he explains it, it will all make sense,” he said.
A week before his return to the Capitol, Kean answered the door at his New Jersey home, wearing a suit and tie, when a New York Times reporter knocked. He declined to give details about his absence.
Caitlin Huey-Burns
contributed to this report.
