Rep. Tom Kean, a New Jersey Republican who opposed paid leave measures as a state lawmaker and in Congress, returned this week to Washington after telling colleagues he’d been hospitalized for depression—an absence that lasted more than three months. His stanc
For more than three months, Tom Kean disappeared from Washington while dealing with depression. When he finally stepped back into view this week, he didn’t just confirm the absence—he described being hospitalized for it.
Kean is the kind of Republican who has long resisted government or employer mandates that benefit workers at the expense of businesses or taxpayers. In the New Jersey legislature. he voted against bills requiring paid leave and backed legislation that would have barred New Jersey towns from enacting their own paid leave requirements. In 2015. he framed his position around cost: “Our solutions won’t cost taxpayers any extra money. ” he said of a pro-business package that included the paid leave ban.
Sen. Andy Kim. a New Jersey Democrat. said he wished Kean well on his continued recovery. but used Kean’s return to sharpen a political contrast. On Facebook. Kim wrote that he believed every person should have access to mental health support. including “paid time off and sick leave. ” and argued that Kean had opposed benefits “for all workers that Members of Congress get.” Kim said. “It’s time for that to change.”.
Kean’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
Kean had vanished from Washington in March, telling people only that he was dealing with a personal medical issue. This week, he returned to the Capitol and announced he’d been hospitalized for depression. He said he struggled with doctors’ advice to remain hospitalized despite his responsibilities—“including to his job.”.
Kean described the pull between treatment and duty. “I didn’t think that I had time for it,” he said. “I had responsibilities to my family. I had responsibilities to my constituents. I had responsibilities to this institution.”
The political fight now hinges on a basic mismatch: Kean’s record of opposing paid leave, including paid sick leave, versus the paid time off federal lawmakers can access.
The United States remains the only developed country that does not guarantee workers paid time off for illness, childbirth, vacation, or holidays. Federal law does require large employers to allow workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off for sickness or other exigencies.
Dawn Huckelbridge. director of the advocacy group Paid Leave for All Action. put the discrepancy in blunt terms: she said she wished Kean healing and a full recovery. but argued that “a four-month leave with fully paid salary is something few Americans have access to.” Huckelbridge added that he had “enjoyed rights that he directly voted against for his own constituents.”.
Kean hadn’t been elected to Congress when the House voted in 2021 on a Democratic bill that included paid leave policies. That bill didn’t become law, and Republicans have not taken up paid leave since taking over the House in 2023.
Democrats are also drawing on Kean’s earlier campaign record. They faulted him for voting against sick leave during his first (unsuccessful) congressional bid in 2020.
At the same time, Kean’s voting record since entering federal politics has fed the criticism. He voted for Republicans’ tax bill last year and its accompanying Medicaid cuts—cuts that could reduce access to mental health services for low-income Americans.
One paragraph of facts has become the shape of the story: Kean opposed paid leave measures in New Jersey. he later opposed paid leave policies during congressional fights that came and went. and then—after more than three months away—he returned to say he’d been hospitalized for depression while weighing doctors’ advice against obligations. The human stakes of his illness are now inseparable from the political stakes of his record.
Tom Kean paid leave paid sick leave depression Andy Kim New Jersey legislature unpaid time off Medicaid cuts Congress