Rep. Tom Kean Jr., R-N.J., has been absent from the House since early March as he deals with a “personal health matter,” his office said.
Dan Scharfenberger, Kean’s chief of staff, told NBC News in an email earlier this week that the congressman "is addressing a personal health matter and will be returning to a regular full schedule.”
Kean last voted in the House on March 5, voting records maintained by the House clerk show. The New Jersey Globe first reported Kean’s extended absence.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-N.J. said he spoke to Kean by phone on Thursday afternoon and the congressman "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 said in a statement first provided to The New York Times on Thursday and then to NBC News.
Republicans hold a slim majority in the House, and member absences can have an outsized impact on votes with narrow margins. The House has 217 GOP members, 212 Democratic members and one independent, Rep. Kevin Kiley of California, who caucuses with Republicans.
Asked if he had heard from his fellow New Jersey Republican, Rep. Jeff Van Drew replied, “Not a word.”
Several House members this year are facing health issues, including Rep. Neal Dunn, R-Fla., whom President Donald Trump revealed in March faces a terminal diagnosis.
Earlier this week, Rep. David Scott, D-Ga., died at the age of 80. For several years before his death, Scott faced questions about his health and was often seen on Capitol Hill using a wheelchair.
Kean is 57 years old and was first elected to the House in 2022. He is running for re-election in what is expected to be a competitive race to represent the state's 7th Congressional District, which runs from the suburbs of New York City to the northwest border of the state. The non-partisan Cook Political Report rates the contest as a "Toss Up."
The Democrat who emerges as the nominee from a four-way primary in the district will go on to face Kean in November.
