House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) says Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ), who has been missing from the lower chamber since early March due to his health, will be “back to 100% very soon.”
Kean, the second-term congressman who represents northwest New Jersey, has not voted on the House floor since March 5 and has missed about 50 roll-call votes since then. The congressman’s staff has said he is dealing with a personal health matter.
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Before Johnson, several congressmen, including Reps. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) and Chris Smith (R-NJ), had been unable to reach Kean and had voiced concerns about their colleague. But Johnson told the Washington Examiner that he spoke with Kean by phone on Thursday.
“I was happy to speak to Tom Kean Jr. this afternoon by phone,” Johnson said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “He is attending to a personal health matter and expects to be back to 100% very soon.”
“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 continued.
Kean is running for reelection to represent New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District for his third term. Four Democrats are competing in the June 2 primary to see who will face Kean, whom President Donald Trump endorsed, in the general election.
The four Democratic candidates are Navy helicopter pilot and healthcare executive Rebecca Bennett, former U.S. Surgeon General senior adviser Tina Shah, entrepreneur Brian Varela, and former Small Business Administration adviser Michael Roth.
Kean does not have a primary opponent to face in his district this year.
Kean won his reelection in 2024 by 5.4 percentage points, defeating Democrat Susan Altman. He won his first election in 2022 by a 2.8% margin, defeating Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) after the district’s lines were redrawn. Trump defeated former Vice President Kamala Harris in New Jersey’s 7th District by a 1.2 percentage point margin, according to the New Jersey Globe.
Hailey Bullis contributed to this report.
