Long-Absent Congressman Will Return June 30, Spokesperson Says — Promises to Be ‘Fully Transparent’

Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via AP Images

Rep. Tom Kean (R-NJ) will return to Congress on June 30 after an unexplained months-long absence, according to a spokesperson for his office.

Kean’s father Tom Kean was governor of New Jersey from 1982 to 1990, and now the 57-year-old son represents the state’s 7th congressional district after years in the state legislature.

The younger Kean found himself in headlines after he stopped showing up for work, last being present for a vote in early March. Kean issued a vague statement saying he was dealing with an unnamed “medical issue.”

The New Jersey Globe reported a phone interview with Kean on May 21 in which he insisted he was running for re-election, would return to work and campaigning “in the next couple of weeks,” and that “my doctors are confident that I’m on the road to a full recovery.” On June 1, President Donald Trump included Kean in a spate of endorsements he posted on his Truth Social account; Kean won his primary, having run unopposed.

But as Kean’s absence has dragged on without any announced end date, it’s sparked growing stress among his GOP colleagues, as Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) can scarcely spare a single vote to get bills passed as it is. The district is also viewed as a swing seat, and Republicans worry Kean’s MIA status is creating easy campaign fodder for Democrats. Former Navy helicopter pilot Rebecca Bennett won the Democratic primary for NJ-7 earlier this month.

Kean spokesperson Harrison Nealy told The New York Times that Kean will return on June 30, and will share the reason he has been absent for so long at that time. He did not say when Kean might start campaigning again.

“As the congressman has previously stated, upon his return he will be fully transparent about this medical condition,” said Neely. “You’ll hear from him in person on the 30th.”

Times reporter Tracey Tully noted, “This is not the first time that statements released by Mr. Kean’s office have indicated that the congressman’s return to work was imminent. But it is the first time an aide has pegged his return to a specific date.”

According to the Times, Kean has missed 135 floor votes so far during his mysterious absence.

Reached for comment by the Times, Kean’s Democratic opponent Bennett sent back a text message saying that Kean “has been failing this district long before he went missing,” and added, “We will hold him accountable for his record.”

Joe LaBarbera, the GOP chairman for Sussex County, lamented Kean’s long and unexplained absence as putting his re-election at risk, explaining that Bennett has been able to build momentum unchallenged, and to win, Kean will now need to “beat the hell of a head start the Democrats have had.”

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