Key takeaways:
- Rep. Tom Kean Jr. said he entered a hospital for testing and was diagnosed with depression, leading to a long-term stay.
- Kean last voted on March 5 and missed more than 140 House votes during his absence.
- House Speaker Mike Johnson said he would have been more specific about the condition but defended Kean’s staff and predicted Kean would win reelection.
Rep. Tom Kean Jr. returned to the Capitol on Tuesday after nearly four months out of public view, telling colleagues he had been hospitalized and diagnosed with depression.
The New Jersey Republican, whose absence had drawn scrutiny as House GOP leaders tried to move legislation with a narrow majority, spoke on the House floor for the first time since he last voted on March 5. He has missed more than 140 votes.
“Several months ago due to health concerns I entered the hospital for some testing. I did not believe that this would result in a long-term stay,” Kean said. “I was given the diagnosis of depression.”
Kean said doctors recommended that he remain in the hospital to address the illness. He described depression as far more than sadness.
“It is physical, it is emotional, and until you experience it yourself, it is difficult to fully understand how powerful this illness can be,” he said.
Kean thanked medical staff and said he had come to understand how long the illness had affected him. “I’m grateful that I accepted help,” he said. “Asking for help is not a weakness. It is a strength.”
He added that recovery does not follow a fixed schedule. “There is no timeline for healing, there is no timeline for recovery, only the work of getting better one day at a time,” he said.
NBC News reported that Kean ignored questions from reporters as he walked into the Capitol and did not discuss his remarks further after the speech, leaving in a car.
Kean’s absence had become a political issue in his competitive New Jersey district, which is expected to be closely watched in November. NBC News reported that he was first elected in 2022 and was unopposed in his June 3 primary for renomination, and that he will face Democrat Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot, in the general election. CBS News described Kean as running for a third term.
For weeks, Kean and those around him offered limited details. On April 27, he said he was addressing a “personal medical issue” and expected to return to a full schedule. “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,” the statement said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said in April that he had spoken with Kean by phone and that Kean was “attending to a personal health matter and expects to be back to 100% very soon.” Johnson later said Kean “sounded good and optimistic,” while also saying he did not know the details of the condition.
Kean’s father, former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean Sr., told NJ.com on May 15 that his son’s illness was “serious” but temporary and that he was under the care of a doctor away from home. He told CNN the same day, “It took a real illness to knock him out,” adding, “This won’t linger. It’s not some kind of disease that’s going to incapacitate him in the future.”
During Kean’s absence, his social media accounts continued posting in the first person, and CBS News reported that he introduced legislation and digitally signed congressional disclosure documents about stock trades dated March 18, April 13 and May 22.
Before Kean’s speech Tuesday, Johnson said he would have handled the disclosure differently. “If it were me, I would have been more specific about that, and I encouraged him to be,” Johnson said.
Still, Johnson defended Kean’s office, saying the congressman’s staff had “worked overtime” and stayed in “constant contact” with leadership. “I think his constituents have been served throughout this process,” Johnson said. “I think Tom gets reelected easily this fall.”
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