Rep. Thomas Kean Jr. signed a congressional disclosure form Friday acknowledging five stock trades made during the months he has been away from Congress, putting fresh focus on the Tom Kean Jr absence impact as he remains out of view in Washington and on the campaign trail.
The filing covered trades between April 14 and May 17, and came after NOTUS reported that Kean had already filed one other stock disclosure while missing more than 100 votes since he last voted on March 5. It was the second time in two months he has had to account for trades while staying largely out of public sight.
Kean has said he is dealing with a personal health matter, but he and his staff have offered few details. He has not been photographed in public in weeks, no public sightings have been reported, and he canceled several planned appearances, including a speaking event Thursday at the Morris County Chamber of Commerce breakfast. Neighbors in Westfield, New Jersey, said his house appeared unoccupied before he started missing votes.
On Thursday, Kean told The New Jersey Globe that his doctors are confident he will make a full recovery and that he expects to return to voting and to the campaign trail within the next couple of weeks. He reportedly reemerged on the political scene via phone last week, when he began making calls to fellow Republicans in New Jersey. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday that he last spoke to Kean by phone a few weeks ago.
“I don’t even know the details, and I respect that. It’s members’ personal privacy on whatever matters they’re dealing with,” Johnson said, adding that their conversation was “a few weeks ago.”
Kean’s absence matters because he is running for a third term in a competitive district Democrats hope to flip back. He is uncontested in the June 2 primary, but his ability to return before the fall campaign intensifies could shape how both parties frame the race in the weeks ahead.
The district has already moved between the parties. Kean first won the seat in 2022, when he flipped it from blue to red, and he won reelection in 2024 by six points. But Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill beat Republican Jack Ciattarelli by two points in the district in November, a reminder that the seat remains closely watched and politically fluid.
For now, the unanswered issue is not whether Kean intends to come back. He has said he does. The question is how quickly he can resume the job, clear the questions around his prolonged absence, and reenter a race where every missed week can still carry weight.
