After an unexplained absence of more than three months, Representative Thomas Kean Jr., a New Jersey Republican facing a tough re-election campaign in a swing district, will return to Congress on June 30, his spokesman said on Thursday.
The spokesman, Harrison Neely, said that Mr. Kean would offer details at that time about the mysterious health condition that has kept him away from Washington and out of the public eye since early March.
“As the congressman has previously stated, upon his return he will be fully transparent about this medical condition,” Mr. Neely said, adding, “You’ll hear from him in person on the 30th.”
Mr. Neely offered no details about when Mr. Kean might be seen on the campaign trail. He will compete in November against Rebecca Bennett, a Democrat and former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot, in a race that could play a crucial role in the balance of power in Washington as President Trump enters the second half of his term.
This is not the first time that statements released by Mr. Kean’s office have indicated that the congressman’s return to work was imminent. But it is the first time an aide has pegged his return to a specific date. The date was first reported by the New Jersey Globe, a political news site founded by a former Republican official.
Mr. Kean, 57, has missed 135 floor votes since March 5, and even some of his Republican allies had been growing frustrated by the limited information that he and his office have shared.
Joe LaBarbera, the Republican chairman of Sussex County, said on Wednesday evening that the party was “really looking forward to him getting back out on the street.” Sussex County is one of New Jersey’s few Republican bastions and will be key to Mr. Kean’s race for a third term in the Seventh District.
On Thursday, after learning of Mr. Kean’s expected reappearance in Congress, Mr. LaBarbera said that he planned to help generate the momentum the congressman would need to “beat the hell of a head start the Democrats have had.”
Ms. Bennett, 39, has worked to maximize that head start since winning the primary in early June.
“Tom Kean Jr. has been failing this district long before he went missing,” she said in a text message. “We will hold him accountable for his record.”
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