Rep. Tom Kean, who stopped showing up for work and missed votes for months, will return to Congress on June 30, his office said. His spokesperson promised Kean will be “fully transparent” about the medical condition that kept him away, as GOP colleagues worry
Rep. Tom Kean is scheduled to return to Congress on June 30 after an unexplained months-long absence, his office spokesperson said, promising that Kean will lay out why he disappeared from floor activity and work “in person on the 30th.”
The 57-year-old Republican represents New Jersey’s 7th congressional district, a seat his office says he holds after years in the state legislature. Kean’s father, Tom Kean, served as governor of New Jersey from 1982 to 1990.
Kean’s absence has now become a political problem as much as a personal one. He last appeared for a vote in early March. Since then, he has offered only a vague explanation. After he stopped showing up, Kean issued a statement describing an unnamed “medical issue.”
In a phone interview reported on May 21, Kean insisted he was running for re-election and said he would return to work and campaigning “in the next couple of weeks.” He also told the interviewer that “my doctors are confident that I’m on the road to a full recovery.”
His campaign position was bolstered by timing that drew attention. On June 1, President Donald Trump included Kean in a spate of endorsements posted on his Truth Social account. Kean then won his primary, running unopposed.
But the question that has lingered for colleagues and constituents is why the return keeps moving—until now. As Kean’s absence stretched without an announced end date. stress reportedly grew inside the GOP conference. where Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) can scarcely spare votes to pass bills even when everyone is present.
There is also the campaign angle. NJ-7 is viewed as a swing seat, and Republicans worry Kean’s months of “MIA” status is giving Democrats a clean line of attack. In early June, former Navy helicopter pilot Rebecca Bennett won the Democratic primary for NJ-7.
Kean’s spokesperson, Harrison Nealy, told a reporter that Kean will come back on June 30 and will share the reason he has been absent for so long when he returns. Nealy also said the timing is meant to put details in Kean’s own voice.
“As the congressman has previously stated, upon his return he will be fully transparent about this medical condition,” Neely said. “You’ll hear from him in person on the 30th.”
Reporting has emphasized that Kean’s office had suggested before that a comeback was near. But it is the first time an aide has pinned the return to a specific date, according to the reporting. During Kean’s unexplained stretch, he has missed 135 floor votes so far.
For Bennett, the months of absence are already part of her case for holding the incumbent accountable. When asked to comment. Bennett—Kean’s Democratic opponent—sent back a text message saying Kean “has been failing this district long before he went missing. ” and adding. “We will hold him accountable for his record.”.
Local party officials have also pushed back publicly through their disappointment about the situation. Joe LaBarbera. the GOP chairman for Sussex County. lamented Kean’s long and unexplained absence as putting his re-election at risk. He said Bennett has been able to build momentum without being challenged. and that for Kean to win he will now need to “beat the hell of a head start the Democrats have had.”.
Kean’s return date—June 30—now lands as a deadline for multiple forces at once: a medical explanation that has been missing for months. a GOP conference looking for votes. and a swing-district campaign moving on without him. On that day. his office says. the missing piece won’t be another vague statement—it will be Kean. speaking directly about the condition that kept him away.
Tom Kean NJ-7 Congress Speaker Mike Johnson Trump endorsements Truth Social Rebecca Bennett Sussex County GOP medical issue floor votes