Absent New Jersey congressman expected back in House on June 30

Tom Kean Jr. is expected back in the House on June 30, ending a nearly four-month absence from Washington that stretched from his last vote on March 5 through at least 135 missed roll call votes. His adviser, Harrison Neely, said Kean will be back for votes that day and will resume a full in-person schedule.

In Westfield, New Jersey, Kean’s two-story Tudor-style house had been dark for weeks, with little sign of activity around the home and no recent public sightings of his wife or her car in the driveway. Kean had not been seen publicly for more than 75 days.

Kean was dealing with a personal medical issue — later a personal health matter or unspecified medical issue. House Speaker Mike Johnson knew the nature of the condition but would not disclose it, calling it a privacy matter and later saying it was not scandalous. Johnson also said he had spoken with Kean in recent weeks and expected him back soon. He will fully disclose the nature of the health issue after he returns, and it is not chronic and will not affect his cognitive skills.

Republicans hold only a slim majority in the chamber, and the House was scheduled to return for votes on June 23, leaving just a few days of legislative business before the July 4 recess. Kean has already missed the period when the chamber was taking votes on the floor, and GovTrack recorded him as missing 135 of 135 roll call votes from March 17 through June 11.

Kean is running for reelection in November against Democrat Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot and healthcare executive. His family’s New Jersey political lineage dates to 1776, with a great-grandfather who was a senator, a grandfather who was a congressman and his father, Thomas Kean Sr., who was governor.