Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) seemed to vanish for months, with his office refusing to give any details other than that he was recovering from a medical issue, and even leaving his own Republican colleagues in the dark.
Finally, upon returning this week, he revealed the issue: he was struggling with an episode of severe depression that incapacitated him from work and required hospitalization. This revelation, according to Politico, has left lawmakers in both parties frustrated that he couldn't be honest with them in the first place.
"While colleagues of both parties expressed sympathy for his mental health challenges and gratitude that he has now returned, many hedged their comments by saying Kean could and perhaps should have said something earlier," said the report. For instance, Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-OR) said, “You give up the right to privacy in a certain respect when you run for office and represent that many people.”
“And so I do challenge our colleagues to be more transparent when these things happen," she said.
Meanwhile, even House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), one of the very few lawmakers who got to check in on Kean during his absence while the reason was still undisclosed, stated in a news conference on his return, “If it were me, I would have been more specific about that, and I encouraged him to be.”
For his own part, Kean has not explained why he couldn't disclose the nature of his diagnosis, but told reporters, “When I said I hoped to return in a matter of weeks, I believed it. Those were the best estimates the doctors could provide.”
Kean, who was first elected to a competitive district in 2022, is expected to face one of the most challenging re-election campaigns of any House Republican in November, where the GOP is defending a razor-thin majority against public anger and rock-bottom polling.