Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-N.J.) returned to the Capitol Tuesday for the first time since March 5 and told colleagues in a brief floor speech that he had been treated for depression during his nearly four-month absence. Kean, who had remained largely out of public view and declined to specify his condition, said the diagnosis came after he sought help.
“This is not an easy speech for me to give. I am a private person by nature,” Kean said. “I was given the diagnosis of depression. … I am grateful that I accepted help.”
Kean said he initially believed he would be away from Washington for only a few weeks, but doctors advised him to remain hospitalized longer. He described depression as an illness that is “physical” and “emotional” and said “there is no timeline for recovery—only the work of getting better, one day at a time.”
His absence had drawn increasing concern in New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, a swing seat that has flipped between parties twice in the past decade. Kean, the son of former New Jersey Gov. Thomas H. Kean, has held the seat since 2023. He won the Republican primary in June without facing a challenger.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Tuesday that Kean had informed him of the medical situation earlier this year and that he had encouraged the congressman to be forthcoming. “I think his constituents have been served throughout this process,” Johnson said.
President Donald Trump endorsed Kean during the absence, saying he was “working tirelessly” for the district.
Kean’s Democratic challenger, Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot who secured the nomination in the June primary, had criticized the congressman’s absence. In her primary victory speech, Bennett said, “Tom Kean Jr., wherever you are, you have failed this district. … Simply put, you are a coward.”
Former Gov. Thomas H. Kean told CNN that his son’s condition would not linger and that doctors believe he will make a full recovery.
The Cook Political Report rates Kean’s district as a “tossup,” making it one of several House seats Democrats hope to win back in the November midterm elections.