PLAYING HOOKY

Republicans Panic Over GOP Congressman’s Mysterious Absence

Party leaders have no details on what has kept the lawmaker out of work for more than two months.

House GOP leaders are increasingly unnerved by Rep. Tom Kean’s vanishing act.

The New Jersey Republican hasn’t shown up for work in more than two months, and his team has declined to brief party leaders privately on what’s keeping him sidelined. House Speaker Mike Johnson and the rest of his top brass have been kept in the dark for a stretch of roughly 70 days, Punchbowl News reports.

The 57-year-old congressman’s office has, on the record, cited an unspecified medical issue and pledged a swift return. “My doctors continue to assure me that my recovery will be complete and that I will be back to the job I love very soon,” Kean said in an April 28 statement.

He hasn’t voted since March 5.

Punchbowl’s sources say Johnson and Kean have spoken only once. That discussion appears to have offered little insight into what’s keeping the congressman away.

“I don’t have any idea what’s going on,” a senior aide in House GOP leadership told the outlet. Roughly a half-dozen other lawmakers and aides have reportedly voiced the same frustration.

Kean’s office nevertheless told Punchbowl that “there’s absolutely nothing to worry about” and that “Congressman Kean is going to be back to a full schedule very soon. He will be 100% healthy and is excited to get back to work.”

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What really has the party sweating is November. Kean, who has served since 2023, sits in one of the most fiercely contested districts in the nation.

Donald Trump carried New Jersey’s 7th District by a single point in 2024. Democrats already have a deep, well-financed primary field jostling to challenge Kean.

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“This is about more than one person at this point; it’s about the vote and the ability to hold the seat in the fall,” a senior member of the leadership team told Punchbowl. “The answer can’t simply be ‘trust us’ when nothing about their behavior has inspired trust.”

The Daily Beast has reached out to Kean’s office for further comment on this story.

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