Tom Kean Jr. to return to Congress after months-long absence

Tom Kean Jr. is set to return to Congress on June 30 after disappearing from Capitol Hill for months, leaving one of the House’s most competitive seats represented by an absent lawmaker. The New Jersey Republican last voted on March 5 and had missed more than 130 roll call votes by mid-June, even as he remained in office and on the ballot in a toss-up district.

Kean’s spokesperson said he plans to attend the June 30 House session and resume a full schedule. Kean has said he was dealing with a personal medical issue, and he has said he intends to be fully transparent about the nature of that condition when he returns in person. The prolonged silence around his absence drew attention because it offered few answers while his constituents continued to go without a visible member in Washington, D.C.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said he had spoken with Kean but would not disclose details of the health issue, saying only that it was “not very common” and not a major issue. Richard Hudson, who chairs the National Republican Congressional Committee, also said he had spoken with Kean and expected him back voting in June. The lack of public detail has intensified scrutiny of how much explanation an elected official owes when personal health keeps them away from the chamber for months.

The stakes are heightened by the political map in New Jersey. The Cook Political Report rates New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District as a toss-up, and Democrats have made it a top pickup target in November. Kean ran unopposed in the June 2 Republican primary, while Democrat Rebecca Bennett won her party’s nomination to challenge him in the general election.

Kean’s absence has also come during a period when Republicans have held only a narrow House majority, making every GOP vote consequential. Missing more than 130 roll call votes, Kean was absent while the chamber continued its work without one of its members regularly showing up to cast votes or answer to constituents. His return will end the immediate vacuum, but it will not erase the broader question his absence raised about accountability in a closely divided Congress.