House Speaker Mike Johnson said he spoke with Rep. Tom Kean, Jr. (R-Westfield) on Thursday, the first political leader to confirm that he has had direct contact with the swing district congressman from New Jersey since he began missing votes on March 16 to deal with a medical issue.
“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,” Johnson said in a statement. “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’s office forwarded the statement to the New Jersey Globe after it was initially released to the New York Times.
Harrison Neely, Kean’s chief strategist, told the New Jersey Globe on April 15 that Kean was “expected to be totally fine and back to a full schedule soon.” Kean’s office – and Johnson — has not provided any additional details regarding his health.
Kean missed two weeks of votes before a recent two-week recess, and missed last week and this week as well. He’s missed a total of 50 roll call votes as of Thursday evening.
The two-term Republican is defending his seat in one of the most competitive House races in the nation. New Jersey’s 7th district went for Donald Trump in 2024 by one percentage point, and Joe Biden won it by nearly four points in 2020. But last year, Democrat Mikie Sherrill carried the 7th by two points in her bid for governor.
Kean, a former minority leader of the New Jersey State Senate and the son of a popular former governor, flipped the seat in 2022, unseating two-term Democrat Tom Malinowski by 3 points. He was re-elected by five points in 2024.