New Jersey Republican Tom Kean returns to Capitol after long unexplained absence

House New Jersey Republican Tom Kean returns to Capitol after long unexplained absence Comments: by Sudiksha Kochi - 06/30/26 10:38 AM ET Comments: Link copied by Sudiksha Kochi - 06/30/26 10:38 AM ET Comments: Link copied

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Rep. Thomas Kean Jr. (R-N.J.) returned to the Capitol on Wednesday after missing over 100 House votes due to an unexplained medical condition.

Kean, who hasn’t voted since March 5, has represented New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District since 2023, a seat that is rated as a toss up by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.

He did not answer reporters’ questions as he walked into the Capitol, and is expected to give a floor speech Wednesday morning.

Kean had written in an April statement that he was addressing a “personal medical issue” but has not elaborated on the reason for his absence.

“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,” he said. “I expect to return to a full schedule and be at 100 percent.”

Still, his prolonged absence had fueled speculation about his health and the timing of his return. His chief of staff told The New York Times when pressed on his absence that, “There’s no cameras where Tom is.”

Asked about Kean at a Wednesday morning press conference, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he “encouraged him to be transparent.“

“If it were me I would have been more specific about that. … It’s not an uncommon kind of condition and ailment that he’s been fighting, and I think people resonate with that. I think he’ll get a lot of empathy, because it’s something that’s very, very common,” he said.

Kean’s absence from the Capitol was felt in the Republicans razor-thin majority, with Johnson only able to lose two or three votes in any party-line bill, assuming full attendance.

“Where is he? No, seriously. It’s embarrassing,” Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) told TMZ earlier this month. “We’re supposed to be the party that is against campaigning from the basement.”

President Trump had endorsed Kean’s reelection bid despite his absence, and Kean told the New Jersey Globe in a phone interview that his illness will not impact his cognitive ability.

Emily Brooks contributed.

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