Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) has announced he is set to make a "complete" recovery from the mystery illness that has kept him absent from Congress for more than a month, reported the New Jersey Globe on Monday.
However, Kean and his staff still did not elaborate on exactly what illness he is recovering from or the exact time frame for his recovery and return to work.
“I want to thank my constituents and colleagues for their patience as I address a personal medical issue,” said Kean in a newly released statement. “My doctors continue to assure me that my recovery will be complete and that I will be back to the job I love very soon. I expect to return to a full schedule and be at 100 percent.”
"The statement is the most detailed update since Kean’s absence began last month, and the first time anything has been released that’s credited to Kean himself, rather than to his office," said the report. "The two-term congressman first started missing votes on March 17; he’s missed more than 50 roll-call votes in total, very out of the ordinary for a congressman who maintained a near-perfect attendance record during his first three years in Congress. After his first week of missed votes, staffers confirmed he was dealing with a medical issue and said he’d return 'soon,' an assertion they’ve continued to make in the month-and-a-half since."
Kean's absence and the lack of details about the cause have triggered confusion and alarm among many political observers.
Notably, Dave Levinthal of NOTUS flagged last week that, despite being absent from Congress, Kean has continued to make frequent stock trades, although it is unclear whether he himself or a third-party financial adviser is facilitating them.
