Representative Thomas Kean Jr., a New Jersey Republican who has not cast a vote in the House in nearly two months, said on Monday that he expected to make a full recovery from what he called a “personal medical issue,” but offered no additional details about his health or when he might return to Congress.
“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,” he said in his first public statement since he began missing votes in Washington last month. “I expect to return to a full schedule and be at 100 percent.”
Mr. Kean, who is running for re-election in one of the country’s most competitive House races, thanked friends and colleagues “on both sides of the aisle” for their “patience and understanding during this time.”
Mr. Kean, 57, last voted on March 5, and concern had intensified in the last several weeks over his prolonged absence from Washington and from his North Jersey district. Even fellow Republican lawmakers have said that they had been given no information about Mr. Kean’s health condition, which has taken him away from Congress at a critical moment.
The Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson, offered a vague statement last week in which he said that he expected Mr. Kean to be “back to 100 percent very soon.”
But there is no escaping that Mr. Johnson could use Mr. Kean’s help now. The speaker is reliant on a narrow majority as he seeks to pass legislation vital to President Trump’s agenda before the midterm elections in November, including several measures the House is expected to take up this week.
Long before Mr. Kean began missing votes, Democrats had been aggressively targeting his seat in the Seventh Congressional District. Four Democrats are vying to run against Mr. Kean, who is the only Republican on the ballot in a June 2 primary.
Friends in New Jersey who have long known Mr. Kean and his father, a popular former governor with the same name, said they had been similarly left in the dark about the medical issue.
“As close as I am to Tom and his dad, they’ve made it very clear it’s a personal matter and he’s recovering and will be back soon,” said Bill Palatucci, one of New Jersey’s two Republican National Committee members, who has been Mr. Kean’s campaign lawyer since his first unsuccessful House race in 2020.
Mr. Palatucci said in an interview there was no indication that Mr. Kean was considering quitting his November race for re-election.
“Everyone understands from their own family experiences that people can run into unexpected health issues,” Mr. Palatucci added in a text message. “For that reason, voters will be completely sympathetic, and it’s also so early in the campaign cycle that this will be long forgotten come the fall.”
Bob Hugin, a former chairman of New Jersey’s Republican Party, donated $7,000 to Mr. Kean’s re-election campaign last year. He said on Monday that he was traveling out of the country, but that he had inquired about Mr. Kean’s health and had been told only that the congressman was “going to be fine.”
Mr. Kean’s social media accounts have remained active, drawing dozens of negative responses from commenters who have in harsh terms demanded additional details about his health.
Mr. Hugin, who ran for U.S. Senate against Robert Menendez in 2018, said he respected voters’ desire for more information.
“I wish there was more transparency,” he said, hours before the congressman released the statement on social media. “I think it’s in everybody’s best interest to have whatever information is available,” he added.
No one answered the door at Mr. Kean’s home in Westfield, N.J., on Monday afternoon. Neighbors either declined to comment or said that they would not have necessarily noticed his absence on the lively block.
The Westfield Police Department, responding to a records request, said that there had been no 911 or emergency medical calls to Mr. Kean’s home since the start of March.
Several of Mr. Kean’s campaign donors said they were unbothered by his hiatus from Washington.
“He’s been good for us. I hope he wins,” said Mary Van Lieu, a former Republican mayor of Pohatcong, N.J. Ms. Van Lieu, 78, made three small donations to Mr. Kean’s re-election campaign last year, and she said his request for patience and understanding should be heeded.
“We invade people’s privacy too much,” she said, adding, “If it was something where his vote was really, really needed, an effort to get him there would be made.”
Michael Fedorko, a former New Jersey State Police commander who now runs public safety in Atlantic County, N.J., is not a constituent of Mr. Kean’s, but has donated $600 to his re-election effort. He said he respected Mr. Kean’s desire for privacy.
“Obviously it’s something they don’t want anyone to know,” he said, adding that he hoped Republicans would continue to control the Seventh District seat.
“One side shouldn’t control everything,” he said. New Jersey’s congressional delegation includes nine Democrats and three Republicans.
Mr. Kean, he said, is “a great guy.”
“He’s smart. He’s educated,” Mr. Fedorko said. “He cares about the country.”
Michael Gold contributed reporting.
Tracey Tully is a reporter for The Times who covers New Jersey, where she has lived for more than 20 years.
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