Tom Kean said on June 30 that hospitalization and a depression diagnosis caused his four-month absence from Congress. He gave that explanation on the floor of the House of Representatives after missing more than 140 votes since March.
Kean said his doctors recommended that he remain hospitalized and that doing so was the “fastest way to recover.” He added, “Asking for help is not a weakness” and “It is a strength.”
House floor on June 30
The speech gave the first detailed explanation for the absence from the Republican congressman representing New Jersey's 7th Congressional District. Kean also said, “Like many people, I believed that I could simply push through,” before telling the House he agreed to follow his doctors' recommendations.
That account filled in a gap that had persisted through the spring. previously tried repeatedly to reach him during his absence and was unsuccessful, while the silence left the reason for the missed votes unexplained for months.
New Jersey's 7th Congressional District
The absence mattered in a district where the November race was already drawing attention. The Cook Political Report shifted its outlook for the contest involving Kean from leaning Republican to a toss-up, and Rebecca Bennett, the Democrat running to replace him in November, has criticized his voting record.
Eli Cousin said, “Career politician Tom Kean Jr. has never been more vulnerable.” Mike Johnson said he hoped the speech about Kean’s “health condition” would help clarify why he had been away, adding, “If it were me, I would have been more specific about that, and I encouraged him to be.”
More than 140 missed votes
Kean’s explanation now ties his absence to a specific medical event rather than a general health reference. He said he was hospitalized several months ago, diagnosed with depression, and advised to stay hospitalized, a sequence that matches the four-month gap and the more than 140 votes he missed since March.
For voters in New Jersey's 7th Congressional District, the practical effect is simple: the reason for the missed votes is now on the record, and the contest moves into November with Kean having publicly defended why he was away and why he followed his doctors’ advice.
