The GOP has the narrowest of narrow majorities in the House. Literally, we need every Republican on every vote to pass anything. But apparently, one GOP member has been missing in action for more than a month and no one – not even members of his own New Jersey caucus – knew where he was or what he was doing.
Republican Rep. Thomas Kean Jr. (NJ-07) has been absent from Congress since March 5, and there has been no explanation for his absence. His colleagues, Republican Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) and Rep. Jeff Van Drew (NJ-02), reportedly reached out to Kean via phone calls and text messages but did not receive any response. Additionally, House GOP leadership has remained silent regarding Kean’s absence.
Politico: Rep. Tom Kean Jr. represents New Jersey’s most competitive district this November — but nobody, even his GOP colleagues, can say where he’s been for the past month.
Rep. Tom Kean Jr.'s team said the absence is due to unspecified health issues. The New Jersey Republican…
— Politics & Poll Tracker ? (@PollTracker2024) April 22, 2026
Rep. Tom Kean Jr. represents New Jersey’s most competitive district this November — but nobody, even his GOP colleagues, can say where he’s been for the past month.
Rep. Tom Kean Jr.’s team said the absence is due to unspecified health issues. The New Jersey Republican hasn’t voted since March 5 and has missed almost 50 roll call votes.
Now, however, we’ve gotten an update. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he spoke to the AWOL Kean by phone on Friday:
Speaker Johnson said in a statement provided to ABC News that he spoke to Kean by phone on Thursday, and that he is dealing with an unspecified “personal health matter.”
“I was happy to speak to Tom Kean, Jr. this afternoon by phone. He is attending to a personal health matter and expects to be back to 100% very soon. Tom is one of the most dedicated and hardest-working Members of Congress, and I am grateful for all he does and will continue to do to serve New Jerseyans and our country,” Johnson said.
Noelle Berriet, Kean’s congressional spokeswoman, did not reply to multiple inquiries asking about the congressman missing votes.
Harrison Neely, a strategist for Kean, told ABC News on Friday, “The congressman is dealing with a personal medical issue. He’s going to be 100% fine and he’s going to be back with a full schedule soon.”
Neely did not share when Kean would return to Congress.
Kean is also in a tough battle to retain his seat:
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The most well-educated swing seat in the country is New Jersey’s 7th District, where 56% of the population has at least a bachelor’s degree. Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr. has won two close races here, but he faces a tough fight in a blue-leaning midterm year in a seat Trump only carried by 1 point in 2024. Regardless of whom Democrats nominate from a busy primary field, this race will be wildly expensive. After all, the North Jersey seat sits entirely within the ultra-expensive New York City media market.
The New Jersey GOP and Speaker Johnson are demonstrating weakness by failing to clarify why Kean was absent and when he plans to return. If legacy media outlets had not highlighted Kean’s absence and speculated about his stock purchases during this time, it might have remained a mystery that Democrats could exploit. With no clear timeline for Kean’s return to Congress and his lackluster social media posts about Earth Day and funding for NJ-7 community projects, the GOP and Kean are not instilling confidence.
