House Speaker Mike Johnson is defending Rep. Tom Kean’s three-month absence from in-person congressional work over an undisclosed health issue, saying the New Jersey Republican will return soon and provide “full transparency” on his medical condition.
“It’s not a scandalous thing at all,” said Mr. Johnson, Louisiana Republican. “People deal with health issues.”
Mr. Kean has not voted in Congress since March 5 or appeared in public over the past few months. He has said he is recovering from a health issue but has yet to disclose any details.
As voters headed to the polls in New Jersey on Tuesday, the congressman issued a statement promising he was “more energized than ever to keep fighting” for his constituents in the 7th District.
“Right now, I am focused on my recovery and under the advice of healthcare professionals, I will transition from virtual work to in-person work within a matter of weeks,” Mr. Kean said. “At that time, I will be completely transparent as to the nature of my medical condition.”
Mr. Kean ran unopposed in the Republican primary on Tuesday.
Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot, won the Democrats’ four-way primary to take him on in November.
The 7th District race is expected to be competitive. President Trump won the district by a single point in the 2024 presidential election.
Mr. Johnson said he talked to Mr. Kean late last week, and “he’s in good spirits” and “anxious to come back in person and be here voting every single day.”
The speaker said he knows what health issue has sidelined Mr. Kean, but he is honoring the congressman’s wishes not to disclose it.
“I’ve also told him that there is nothing untoward or scandalous at all in having a health issue,” Mr. Johnson said. “And as soon as he’s ready to talk about that, you’re all going to breathe a sigh of relief and say, ‘That makes sense.’ What he’s dealing with is something very common and not a big thing.”
Late last month, after relentless questions about his mysterious absence, Mr. Kean made a round of phone calls to assure people he was well and would return to work in Washington in the coming weeks.
North Carolina Rep. Richard Hudson, who chairs the GOP’s campaign arm, was one of the people who received a call from Mr. Kean, who told him he would return in June.
“I got no details about his condition, but I talked to him,” Mr. Hudson told reporters at the time. “He sounded like the same old Tom.”
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