Rep. Tom Kean Jr. is set to miss another week of work in Washington just as the House returns Tuesday, extending a two-month absence that has already cost him 68 votes. His office says the New Jersey Republican’s time away is tied to a personal health matter, but it has given no detailed explanation and no public timetable for his return.
Kean has not voted since March 5 and has not made a public appearance since early March, leaving one of the House’s most competitive districts represented from a distance. The absence was especially visible when lawmakers took up legislation to end the record 75-day shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security and Kean was not there to take part.
The latest word from his office came in a written statement in late April, when aides said he would return to a full schedule very soon. That promise has not been matched by a comeback. Last week, a member of the incumbent’s political operation told Politico, “Of course Congressman Kean is running for re-election.”
The unanswered question is no longer whether Kean plans to remain in the race. It is whether he can re-enter the House floor with enough speed and visibility to reassure voters in a district where every missed day matters. On Tuesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson was asked when he expected Kean back and replied, “I don't know,” a blunt answer that underscored how little is publicly known about the congressman’s condition.
Kean’s office has linked the absence to a personal health matter without elaborating, and early April brought reports that some of his colleagues had reached out to check on him but that their calls went unanswered. That silence has left Capitol Hill filling in the blanks around a lawmaker whose family name is well known in New Jersey politics. His grandfather was a longtime GOP congressman from the state, and his father served two terms as governor.
For now, the picture is plain: Kean remains off the floor, the votes continue to pile up, and Washington still does not know when he will return. In a House where attendance is counted one roll call at a time, that is not a side story. It is the story.
