House Speaker Mike Johnson said Friday that Republican Tom Kean Jr., who hasn't voted since early March, is handling a personal health issue and will return to work soon. Johnson offered no timeline or specifics about the New Jersey congressman's absence, which comes as Republicans operate with an razor-thin majority in the chamber.
Kean, 57, represents a district that Democrats have marked as a prime pickup opportunity in the midterm election cycle. His weeks-long absence underscores the fragility of the GOP's hold on power, with Johnson managing a majority of just 217 seats plus one independent, against 212 Democratic seats.
"He is attending to a personal health matter and expects to be back to 100% very soon," Johnson said after speaking with Kean by phone Thursday. The speaker described him as "one of the most dedicated and hardest-working members of Congress."
Kean's campaign spokesman Harrison Neely repeated the same language, saying the congressman would return to full duties soon but declined to answer questions about the nature of the issue or when Kean last performed his legislative duties beyond the March vote count.
The absence arrives at a particularly vulnerable moment for the Republican caucus. The House has been gutted by a cascade of resignations and deaths. Democrat Eric Swalwell of California resigned this month following sexual assault allegations. Republican Tony Gonzales of Texas departed after acknowledging an affair with an aide who died by suicide. Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida resigned facing an expulsion vote after being indicted over alleged misuse of $5 million in federal disaster relief funds. Two more vacancies opened after the recent deaths of Republican Doug LaMalfa of California and Democrat David Scott of Georgia.
With five empty seats, Johnson faces constant attendance complications on party-line votes as the chamber struggles through contentious debates over Homeland Security funding and surveillance legislation.
Kean, who comes from a storied New Jersey political dynasty, defeated Democrat Tom Malinowski in 2022 to claim the northwest corner seat bordering Pennsylvania. He held the seat in 2024 even as Donald Trump carried his district by just 50 percent. Yet he remains Washington's most exposed Republican congressman from New Jersey, with left-leaning groups already investing six figures in advertising designed to flip the seat blue.
Author James Rodriguez: "Johnson's vague assurances ring hollow when the Speaker can't afford to lose a single vote on major legislation, and voters in a toss-up district are watching one of their representatives disappear from the job without explanation."
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