Republican congressman absent over ‘personal health matter’, Johnson says | New Jersey
A vulnerable Republican congressman who hasn’t voted in weeks is “dealing with a personal health matter” and struggling to maintain his historically small majority in the lower house of Congress, House Speaker Mike Johnson said Friday.
Tom Kean Jr.’s New Jersey district is a top target for Democrats in the November midterm elections, but the congressman has not voted in the House since March 5.
Johnson said in a statement that he spoke with Kean, 57, by phone Thursday and said: “He is dealing with a personal health issue and expects to be back to 100% very soon. Tom is one of the most dedicated and hard-working members of Congress, and I am grateful for everything he has done and will continue to do to serve New Jerseyans and our country.”
Harrison Neely, a spokesman for Kean’s campaign, said: “The congressman is dealing with a personal health matter. He will soon be 100% healthy and back on his full schedule.” He did not respond to specific questions about Kean’s health and when he stopped working.
Kean’s absence is the latest complication for the historically small Republican majority in the House, which has been rocked by the resignations and deaths of lawmakers from both parties.
This month, Democrat Eric Swalwell of California resigned amid sexual assault allegations, and Republican Tony Gonzales of Texas followed suit after admitting to having an affair with an aide who later took his own life.
A week later, Florida Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigned ahead of a possible expulsion vote after she was indicted for allegedly misusing $5 million in federal disaster relief funds.
Two more seats became vacant this week following the deaths of California Republican Doug LaMalfa and Georgia Democrat David Scott.
The Republican majority consists of 217 seats plus one independent who has joined the party with them, compared to the Democrats’ 212 seats. The five vacancies could still create turnout challenges for Johnson on party-line votes in the chamber, which is in the midst of protracted negotiations on issues such as funding for the Department of Homeland Security and a controversial surveillance bill.
Kean, from one of New Jersey’s prominent political families, whose father served as governor and whose grandfather was a longtime congressman, defeated Democrat Tom Malinowski in 2022 to win a seat representing a district in the state’s northwestern corner, bordering Pennsylvania.
Kean was re-elected in 2024 when Donald Trump carried his district by a narrow 50% margin. But Kean is seen as the most vulnerable Republican congressman in New Jersey, with polls showing Democratic candidates gaining popularity nationwide, and left-wing groups have announced six-figure ad buys aimed at persuading voters to unseat him.
