Missing congressman and his staff paint a picture of business as usual

WASHINGTON — In recent weeks, Rep. Tom Kean Jr. has launched a “Hometown Heroes” program honoring first responders in his district. He has said he’s joining the Congressional Crypto Caucus. And he announced he had co-sponsored a bill to combat discrimination against Sikh Americans.

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Looking at those social media posts, you’d have no idea that Kean, a 57-year-old New Jersey Republican, hasn’t voted or been seen in public for more than three months.

Kean’s office has posted almost daily on X, Instagram and other social media sites as he deals with what his team has called a “personal medical issue.”

Absent from Washington, Kean has continued to author legislation, including a bill introduced May 29 that focuses on the screening and early detection of preeclampsia. He has also submitted remarks to the Congressional Record that make it appear that he was in the Capitol delivering a speech. “I rise today to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the Jewish Federation of West Central New Jersey,” said an entry from Kean on Tuesday.

Kean’s office didn’t respond to a request for comment for this article.

It’s not unusual for lawmakers’ staffs to post updates for them. And Kean isn’t the first member of Congress to have social media posts implying he is staying active and engaged with his constituents while he is out of the public eye. But the posts have raised eyebrows as his whereabouts remain unknown and his office has stayed tight-lipped about why.

“If they’re talking to him and he’s signing off on these things, that’s one thing. If they’re doing it without consulting with him, that’s another. I don’t think the latter is acceptable,” said a New Jersey Democratic lawmaker who has tried to reach out to Kean without success and spoke on the condition of anonymity about the private outreach. “No one has any idea what’s f—– going on with him? Like, literally no one knows.”

A Republican lawmaker known for his daily videos posted on social media, Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee, said Kean needs to give his constituents and House colleagues more information.

“We need to get some answers. I think that’d be good for everybody,” Burchett said. “Transparency, we need some transparency.”

Kean is still running for re-election, and his office posted that he will return within “a matter of weeks.” The day before Kean’s primary Tuesday, President Donald Trump reiterated his endorsement on Truth Social, proclaiming, “HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”

Kean, who reposted the endorsement, was running unopposed.

Kean, a two-term congressman and scion of one of New Jersey’s most prominent political dynasties, has good reason to appear connected with his constituents. He’ll face Democrat Rebecca Bennett, a healthcare executive and former Navy helicopter pilot, in the fall in what’s shaping up to be one of the most hotly contested House races of the cycle. Cook Political Report has rated the race a “toss-up.”

“I’m really very surprised that there’s been very little disclosure,” said Democratic Rep. Nellie Pou, who served for years with Kean in the New Jersey Statehouse in Trenton. “Everybody is certainly entitled to their own privacy. So if there’s something seriously wrong, then I think his constituents have the right to know what’s really going on.”

She said she hopes his health recovers quickly.

“The lack of information only creates more mystery,” she added.

As media scrutiny intensifies, Kean’s office has also taken to social media to share updates, saying on the day of his primary election that he is focused on his “recovery” right now and plans to “transition from virtual work to in person work within a matter of weeks,” though it didn’t provide any details about the reason for his lengthy, conspicuous absence.

“At that time I will be completely transparent as to the nature of my medical condition. … I understand the need for transparency on this matter,” Kean said in a statement. “And I look forward to sharing my experience with the public.”

Kean’s absence has become one of the biggest mysteries in Washington, with reporters asking Republican leaders about it nearly every week.

At his weekly news conference, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said this week that he had spoken to Kean in recent days and called him an “extraordinary member of Congress” who “has delivered for the people of New Jersey.”

Johnson said he is aware of Kean’s health issue but had been asked not to disclose it.

“It’s not a scandalous thing at all. People deal with health issues. Maybe that’s a news flash for you, but even members of Congress get sick, as well, right? … He’s gonna give full transparency and full explanation when he gets back, and I’m encouraging him to do that,” Johnson said.

Hiding health issues

Elected officials’ hiding health issues from the public while maintaining business as usual is nothing new.

In December 2024, The Dallas Express, a local news outlet, discovered that then-Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, who wasn’t seeking re-election and hadn’t cast a vote in five months, was residing in an assisted-living facility in Fort Worth. Her family later said Granger was dealing with “dementia issues.”

She had stepped down as chair of the powerful Appropriations Committee in April 2024 amid declining health, but her office hadn’t disclosed her condition or whereabouts.

In 2023, the three-month absence of another once-powerful lawmaker, then-Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., also drew headlines, complicating efforts to confirm some of President Joe Biden’s nominees in the Judiciary Committee. During that stretch, Feinstein, the former Judiciary chair, missed more than 90 floor votes.

Her office did disclose why she was missing votes, however: She had been hospitalized with shingles. Feinstein and her office had already spent years pushing back against reports that she lacked the mental fitness to continue in the job, and she died that September at age 90.

In early April 2024, then-Rep. Donald Payne Jr., D-N.J., was hospitalized for what his office called a “cardiac episode” in a statement that said his “prognosis is good and he is expected to make a full recovery.”

After the New Jersey Globe reported that he was unconscious, Payne’s office said he was in “stable condition.” Payne died at the end of that month. His father also died while he was serving in Congress 12 years earlier.

Most recently, Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., missed dozens of votes this spring because of an unexplained absence. During that time, her X account posted that she’d hosted a Service Academy Day event, but the photos were from an event last year.

Wilson, 83, later said she was recovering from eye surgery, and she announced May 29 that she wouldn’t seek re-election.

Woodrow Wilson’s stroke

Perhaps the most notable secretive medical absence involving an American politician centered on yet another New Jerseyan: President Woodrow Wilson, the state’s former governor.

After Wilson was incapacitated by a major stroke in 1919, his wife, Edith, and his physician concealed his condition from the public.

“Together they chose what they believed best for Wilson personally rather than what was good for the country,” said Christopher Cox, a Republican former member of the House and author of “Woodrow Wilson: The Light Withdrawn.”

“History teaches it is difficult for important elected officials to give up power and position when health issues compromise their ability to do the job,” Cox said. “In that sense, human nature hasn’t changed.”

Cox, who served in the House for 17 years before President George W. Bush nominated him to be the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, said members of Congress deny representation by failing to show up and vote.

“Just as Wilson came to think of the presidency as his personal possession rather than a delegation from the people, too many in Congress, when facing disqualifying health issues, have hung on until the bitter end,” he said.