Republican Congressman Who Mysteriously Disappeared Discloses Stay at Mental Health Facility

A Republican lawmaker from New Jersey, Congressman Tom Kean, says he missed nearly four months of work due to a depression diagnosis, he announced in a speech on the House floor on Tuesday. Mr. Kean’s team refused to disclose his whereabouts or the reason for his disappearance during the entirety of his absence. Mr. Kean, the son of a former governor, last cast a vote in the House in early March, almost four months ago. During that time, his staff would only say that he was receiving medical treatment at an undisclosed location. Depression is one of the most common mental health afflictions in the United States, affecting nearly 50 million American adults, and can be managed with various forms and combinations of therapy and prescription medication. Mr. Kean did not disclose his course of treatment. Speaking on the House floor on Tuesday morning, Mr. Kean said he entered the hospital not knowing that he would later be diagnosed with depression. “Several months ago, due to health concerns, I entered the hospital,” Mr. Kean said. “I did not believe that this would result in a long-term stay. I was given the diagnosis of depression.”“The doctors recommended that I remain in the hospital to address my illness,” the lawmaker added. On Tuesday morning before Mr. Kean’s speech, Speaker Mike Johnson said he had spoken to his colleague and that he had urged him to be as transparent as possible. On the floor, Mr. Kean disclosed that he had originally believed he would be able to return to work shortly after being admitted to the hospital, though later learned that his path to recovery would be more difficult.“There is no timeline for healing,” he said. “There is no timeline for recovery, only the work of getting better one day at a time.”Mr. Kean is a top target for Democrats this fall. He represents a district in suburban New Jersey that President Trump won by a mere two points, while Governor Mikie Sherrill won the same district by the same margin in the 2025 gubernatorial election. As Mr. Kean was in the hospital, his financial advisors continued trading stocks on his behalf. His staff had previously said all of his assets are in a trust, so Mr. Kean doesn’t personally trade anything, but Democrats were quick to highlight the portfolio moves even as his location and condition went undisclosed. “Career politician Tom Kean Jr. represents everything that’s wrong with a broken and corrupt Washington,” a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Eli Cousin, said as the DCCC launched a digital ad highlighting Mr. Kean’s stock trades. “Kean Jr. had time to play the stock market and line his pockets, but he didn’t have time to show up and answer to his own constituents. There is no justification for that kind of public corruption.”After his announcement, many pointed out online that the intrigue and criticism of Mr. Kean never would have materialized had he been forthcoming about his condition from the outset. Some pointed to the case of Senator John Fetterman, who announced in 2023 that he was being treated at Walter Reed Hospital for depression following a stroke the year prior. Mr. Fetterman announced his stay at the hospital one day after checking in, and constantly updated the public, even allowing his staff and reporters to visit him at the hospital.

Republican Congressman Who Mysteriously Disappeared Discloses Stay at Mental Health Facility

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