Saturday marks 100 days since Representative Thomas Kean Jr.’s last public act.
Mr. Kean, a Republican from New Jersey who is facing a difficult re-election fight, voted in Congress on March 5, voicing a crucial “yea” in support of funding President Trump’s immigration crackdown and moving to end a government shutdown.
On the same day, the congressman spoke during a bill markup session of the House’s Committee on Energy and Commerce, reading from a prepared statement in support of a bill that would require children younger than 17 to get parental approval before participating in online gaming chats. “This vulnerability can lead to child exploitation, and must be stopped,” he said.
His voice was halting at times, but nothing about his appearance suggested he was ill.
Then the House had a weeklong recess. When it reconvened on St. Patrick’s Day, Mr. Kean was not there.
In March, he missed a vote to rein in the federal deficit.
In April, he missed a vote to amend the Clean Air Act.
In early June, he missed a vote on whether to withhold funding for low-income child care to “noncompliant” states.
In all, the congressman has missed 135 House votes during his mysterious absence. During that time his office has released two statements, attributed to Mr. Kean, indicating he is under medical care for an undisclosed health condition that has kept him away from Washington and out of the public eye.
He has nonetheless bought and sold stock, introduced remarks into the Congressional Record and — last week — urged House colleagues from afar to oppose Ireland’s effort to limit trade with Israel.
Harrison Neely, Mr. Kean’s spokesman, said on Friday that Mr. Kean has been working remotely.
From where is anyone’s guess. Even as Mr. Kean won an uncontested primary earlier this month to defend his seat in New Jersey’s Seventh District, his location has remained a mystery.
So has the nature of his ailment.
But not to everyone. Earlier this month, Mike Johnson, the House Speaker, indicated that he was privy to details that Mr. Kean’s constituents were not.
“I do know what his health issue is,” Mr. Johnson, whose position could be imperiled if Mr. Kean and other Republicans lose in November, said on June 3, after Mr. Kean won his primary in absentia. “But he’s asked me not to disclose that and I’m going to honor that.”
The congressman has pledged to be “completely transparent” with everyone else, soon.
Over the course of the spring, the congressman’s anticipated return has kept sliding deeper into the calendar. On April 27, Mr. Kean’s office released a statement in which the congressman said he planned to return “very soon.” On May 21, he told the founder of a political news site that he intended to be back in Congress and on the campaign trail “in the next couple of weeks.” On June 2, the day of the primary election, he said in a (written) statement that he expected to be back “within a matter of weeks.”
In the meantime, Democrats selected Rebecca Bennett, 39, a former Navy helicopter pilot, to run against Mr. Kean, 57, in one of the House races that could tip the balance of power in Washington.
New Jersey’s Seventh District, which Mr. Kean has represented since 2023, includes about 19,000 more registered Republicans than Democrats. Both parties consider Mr. Kean’s seat crucial to the fight for control of Congress during the second half of Mr. Trump’s term.
With the general election now underway, the congressman’s absence is being used against him.
“Tom Kean Jr., wherever you are: Do your job. Or get the hell out,” intones an ad now running in Mr. Kean’s district. The ad was paid for by Your Community, a political action committee with funding sources that are hard to trace. Its treasurer is Anne Titus Hilby, a lawyer, who referred questions to a spokesman, Josh Schwerin.
“Tom Kean Jr. is completely failing his constituents while still working on his own stock portfolio,” Mr. Schwerin said in an email, referring to the recent trades disclosed on forms filed with Mr. Kean’s electronic signature.
Mr. Neely, Mr. Kean’s spokesman, said “anonymous dark money attacks” won’t change the congressman’s record, which he suggested speaks for itself. “Tom Kean Jr. has spent his career delivering for New Jersey,” Mr. Neely said. “Lowering costs, standing up for families and fighting for the communities he has always served.”
The campaign has forged ahead without the candidate. Kristen Cianci, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, said that there are nine full-time campaign employees in New Jersey working with 500 volunteers on behalf of Mr. Kean. They have knocked on 7,700 doors and made 52,000 calls, she said.
“We are fully committed to the re-election of Congressman Tom Kean and have invested in this race, which remains a top priority,” Ms. Cianci said in an email.
When asked for details about the congressman’s on-the-ground re-election effort, Mr. Kean’s campaign manager referred questions to Mr. Neely, who offered none. “There are no cameras where they are canvassing,” Mr. Neely said, in jest — an allusion to an earlier remark, by Mr. Kean’s chief of staff, who in mid-May had offered a gnomic explanation (“There’s no cameras where Tom is”) for why his boss had not been seen.
On the 99th day since Mr. Kean’s last vote in Congress, his office commemorated Francis Hopkinson, who signed the Declaration of Independence from New Jersey, as part of a series of online posts marking the nation’s 250th anniversary.
His office did not make him available for an interview.
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