House Republican Makes His First Statement About Mysterious Absence

Rep. Thomas Kean Jr., a New Jersey Republican who has not cast a vote in the House in nearly two months, said Monday that he expected to make a full recovery from what he called a “personal medical issue,” but offered no additional details about his health or when he might return to Congress.

“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 in his first public statement since he began missing votes in Washington last month. “I expect to return to a full schedule and be at 100%.”

Kean, who is running for reelection in one of the country’s most competitive House races, thanked friends and colleagues “on both sides of the aisle” for their “patience and understanding during this time.”

Kean, 57, last voted March 5, and concern had intensified in the past several weeks over his prolonged absence from Washington and from his North Jersey district. Even fellow Republican lawmakers have said that they had been given no information about Kean’s health condition, which has taken him away from Congress at a critical moment.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., offered a vague statement last week in which he said that he expected Kean to be “back to 100% very soon.”

But there is no escaping that Johnson could use Kean’s help now. The speaker is reliant on a narrow majority as he seeks to pass legislation vital to President Donald Trump’s agenda before the midterm elections in November, including several measures the House is expected to take up this week.

Long before Kean began missing votes, Democrats had been aggressively targeting his seat in the 7th Congressional District. Four Democrats are vying to run against Kean, who is the only Republican on the ballot in a June 2 primary.

Friends in New Jersey who have long known Kean and his father, a popular former governor with the same name, said they had been similarly left in the dark about the medical issue.

“As close as I am to Tom and his dad, they’ve made it very clear it’s a personal matter and he’s recovering and will be back soon,” said Bill Palatucci, one of New Jersey’s two Republican National Committee members, who has been Kean’s campaign lawyer since his first unsuccessful House race in 2020.

Palatucci said in an interview there was no indication that Kean was considering quitting his November race for reelection.

“Everyone understands from their own family experiences that people can run into unexpected health issues,” Palatucci added in a text message. “For that reason, voters will be completely sympathetic, and it’s also so early in the campaign cycle that this will be long forgotten come the fall.”

Bob Hugin, a former chair of New Jersey’s Republican Party, donated $7,000 to Kean’s reelection campaign last year. He said Monday that he was traveling out of the country, but that he had inquired about Kean’s health and had been told only that Kean was “going to be fine.”

Kean’s social media accounts have remained active, drawing dozens of negative responses from commenters who have in harsh terms demanded additional details about his health.

Hugin, who ran for U.S. Senate against Bob Menendez in 2018, said he respected voters’ desire for more information.

“I wish there was more transparency,” he said, hours before Kean released the statement on social media. “I think it’s in everybody’s best interest to have whatever information is available,” he added.

No one answered the door at Kean’s home in Westfield, New Jersey, on Monday afternoon. Neighbors either declined to comment or said that they would not have necessarily noticed his absence on the lively block.

The Westfield Police Department, responding to a records request, said that there had been no 911 or emergency medical calls to Kean’s home since the start of March.

Several of Kean’s campaign donors said they were unbothered by his hiatus from Washington.

“He’s been good for us. I hope he wins,” said Mary Van Lieu, a former Republican mayor of Pohatcong, New Jersey. Van Lieu, 78, made three small donations to Kean’s reelection campaign last year, and she said his request for patience and understanding should be heeded.

“We invade people’s privacy too much,” she said. “If it was something where his vote was really, really needed, an effort to get him there would be made.”

Michael Fedorko, a former New Jersey State Police commander who now runs public safety in Atlantic County, New Jersey, is not a constituent of Kean’s but has donated $600 to his reelection effort. He said he respected Kean’s desire for privacy.

“Obviously it’s something they don’t want anyone to know,” he said, adding that he hoped Republicans would continue to control the 7th District seat.

“One side shouldn’t control everything,” he said. New Jersey’s congressional delegation includes nine Democrats and three Republicans.

Kean, he said, is “a great guy.”

“He’s smart. He’s educated,” Fedorko said. “He cares about the country.”

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Tracey Tully/Bryan Anselm
c. 2026 The New York Times Company

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