{"id":2006,"date":"2026-05-29T11:05:37","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T11:05:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2006"},"modified":"2026-05-29T11:05:37","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T11:05:37","slug":"he-hasnt-been-seen-in-congress-for-months-now-republicans-are-worried","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2006","title":{"rendered":"He hasn\u2019t been seen in Congress for months. Now Republicans are worried."},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Rep. Tom Kean Jr. at a 2022 election party in Basking Ridge, N.J. (Stefan Jeremiah\/AP)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

For almost three months, Rep. Tom Kean Jr.\u2019s whereabouts and condition have been a mystery in his New Jersey congressional district. Now they are becoming a source of growing alarm for his party in Washington, where Republicans fear his prolonged absence could cost them his swing seat \u2014 and possibly their House majority.<\/p>

Read more FBI interviews election workers in a swing state amid Trump\u2019s false 2020 claims<\/a><\/p>\n

Kean has not voted in the House since March 5. His district, one of the most affluent in the nation, is also <\/b>one of the country\u2019s most competitive, a seat Republicans need to hold for a chance to keep a House that they currently control by only a handful of votes. The cost of his absence has already shown up on the House floor. Earlier this month, a resolution on U.S. military action in Iran<\/a> deadlocked 212-212, with Kean not casting a ballot.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one knows where he is and, from my understanding, the speaker doesn\u2019t know what the exact situation is,\u201d said Doug Heye, a longtime Republican operative and former top aide to then-House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Virginia). \u201cJust as there\u2019s no room for error in the congressional majority, there\u2019s no room for error in this congressional race.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kean has not cast a vote in Congress in nearly three months. He has not appeared at a public event in his district. He has not held a town hall, attended a committee hearing or stepped onto the House floor \u2014 all of which have led to a mix of confusion, frustration and anger.<\/p>\n

Representatives for Kean\u2019s congressional office and campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment.<\/p>\n

His congressional office has released little information about why he has been away. Kean said in a statement last month<\/a> that he has been dealing with \u201ca personal medical issue\u201d but did not specify when he expects to return. As pressure built in recent weeks for Kean to provide more information, the congressman <\/b>told the New Jersey Globe in a phone interview<\/a> that he expects to return to work \u201cin the next couple of weeks\u201d and will run for reelection.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy doctors are confident that I\u2019m on the road to a full recovery,\u201d Kean told the publication, while providing few insights into his medical issue. \u201cI understand the need for public transparency, and I appreciate the support of my constituents.\u201d<\/p>\n

But that has done little to assuage the concerns of Republican operatives focused on keeping control of the House next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one knows what is going on, which is leading to a lot of anxiety,\u201d said a Republican operative who works on House races, who like some others interviewed for this report spoke on the condition of anonymity to frankly discuss a sensitive issue within the GOP conference. \u201cThere is a total information void.\u201d<\/p>\n

The operative added: \u201cWe cannot hold the majority without this seat. And folks need to know if he is capable of running for reelection and winning. … You can\u2019t just go missing for months and tell people they just need to be patient and wait without any accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kean, the son of former New Jersey governor Thomas H. Kean, is running unopposed in New Jersey\u2019s GOP primary on June 2.<\/p>\n

On Capitol Hill, Kean\u2019s absence has made the job of Republican leaders in charge of the House more difficult as they try to manage the legislative body with a notably narrow margin.<\/p>\n

\u201cElected officials, especially in competitive districts, are held to a different standard and transparency comes with the job,\u201d said a Republican House leadership aide. \u201cRepublicans have a swing seat to protect and a razor-thin majority.\u201d<\/p>\n

People in the area Kean represents \u2014 a stretch of New Jersey from the Newark suburbs to the state\u2019s western border with Pennsylvania \u2014 have mixed feelings about the congressman\u2019s absence.<\/p>

Read more Who should represent a historically Black district?<\/a><\/p>\n

Gabriella Cuccaro, a 25-year-old Department of Homeland Security agent, learned about the controversy surrounding Kean while scrolling through social media. His absence is \u201ca huge red flag,\u201d said Cuccaro, who said she is not affiliated with any political party. \u201cYou kind of want to feel represented by the people who are representing you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others had not heard much about Kean\u2019s situation but said a congressman being absent from Congress is concerning.<\/p>\n

\u201cSounds like something shady,\u201d said Sandra Jaeger, a Democrat who voted for President Donald Trump in 2024.<\/p>\n

But in interviews conducted in his district, Republican voters were less bothered.<\/p>\n

John Pereira, a 58-year-old Republican, said that Kean\u2019s absence doesn\u2019t faze him and that he\u2019ll vote the party line no matter what. Originally from Nicaragua, Pereira said he is more <\/b>worried about socialism and would prefer an absent Republican representative to any Democrat.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though he\u2019s a congressman, he has to have some privacy,\u201d Pereira said.<\/p>\n

Heye, the Republican operative, argued that voters can be \u201cvery forgiving\u201d toward their political leaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you have to level with them,\u201d he added. \u201cHe seems to be just trying to defy that without any rationale or explanation.\u201d<\/p>\n

One problem for Kean is that his absence plays into how Democrats have long talked about him even before he disappeared \u2014 painting him as an absentee congressman who does not show up for the people of his district.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe will be held accountable for betraying New Jersey families and for the damage he has inflicted when he\u2019s actually been in Washington to vote,\u201d said Eli Cousin, a spokesperson for House Democrats\u2019 campaign arm.<\/p>\n

Rebecca Bennett, a leading Democrat in the nominating contest to challenge Kean in November, has been more careful when hitting Kean for his absenteeism.<\/p>\n

\u201cI sincerely wish him well. I hope he has a speedy recovery,\u201d Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot, said in an interview with The Washington Post. \u201cI certainly would have been more transparent about this if I was our member of Congress. And I think we do need to have rules about disclosure, both from a financial perspective as well as if you\u2019re going to have some sort of extended absence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bennett, however, argued that Kean\u2019s absence from the Hill is simply a continuation of his approach since he was elected.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is never around, he\u2019s not on the ground, he doesn\u2019t meet with voters, and he doesn\u2019t meet with constituents,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd so, to me, this is just an extension of how he\u2019s been in office from the beginning.\u201d<\/p>

Read more Curtis Mead, a former top prospect whose career had stalled, finds traction in D.C.<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rep. Tom Kean Jr.\u2019s New Jersey district is among the country\u2019s most competitive, and his absence from the House since March has sparked increasing alarm in his party.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2004,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nHe hasn\u2019t been seen in Congress for months. 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