{"id":793,"date":"2026-06-30T15:43:04","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T15:43:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=793"},"modified":"2026-06-30T15:43:04","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T15:43:04","slug":"tom-kean-jr-reveals-depression-caused-his-months-long-house-absence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=793","title":{"rendered":"Tom Kean Jr. Reveals Depression Caused His Months-Long House Absence"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Rep. Tom Kean Jr. revealed on Tuesday that his nearly four-month absence from Congress was caused by a severe case of depression.<\/p>\n

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The New Jersey Republican disclosed the illness in a speech on the House floor shortly after his return to the U.S. Capitol, his first public appearance since he disappeared earlier this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen people hear the word depression, many people think simply feel it means feeling sad, but depression is so much more than that, it is physical, it is emotional, and until you experience it yourself, it is difficult to fully understand how powerful this illness can be,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first informed the public that I was dealing with a medical issue, I was still trying to understand what was happening myself. When I said I hope to return in a matter of weeks, I believed it,\u201d Kean added.<\/p>\n

The congressman said \u201cI\u2019m good,\u201d when asked by reporters how he\u2019s feeling following his speech on Tuesday. Kean immediately exited the Capitol and declined to answer further questions.<\/p>\n

The New Jersey Republican was spotted publicly for the first time in months last week, when a New York Times<\/u><\/span> reporter spoke briefly with the congressman at his home. He declined to answer questions about his condition, but promised earlier this month that he would be \u201ccompletely transparent\u201d about his medical condition when he returned to in-person work.<\/p>\n

\u201cCongressman Kean is eager to return to in-person work on June 30 and resume a full schedule,\u201d Harrison Neely, Kean\u2019s spokesperson, told NOTUS earlier this month<\/u><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Kean said on Tuesday that he did not know how long his hospital stay would be when he was first admitted.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI am grateful that I accepted help, because today I stand before you healthier, stronger, and excited to return to the work that I love,\u201d Kean said. \u201cAsking for help is not a weakness, it is a strength.\u201d<\/p>\n

He is not the only lawmaker to seek mental health treatment in recent years. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania) spent six weeks<\/u><\/span> in the hospital to receive treatment for clinical depression in 2023, following a stroke the previous year. At the time, Fetterman said his depression worsened after he won his election.<\/p>\n

Kean has faced sharp criticism for refraining from disclosing his medical issue to his constituents, particularly in an election year.<\/p>\n

Kean\u2019s district in northern New Jersey is a top target for Democrats in the midterms, and rated a \u201ctoss up\u201d by the Cook Political Report<\/u><\/span>. In November, Kean will face off against Rebecca Bennett, the Democratic nominee and a former Navy helicopter pilot, who has criticized his near-total silence on his medical condition.<\/p>\n

Kean won the uncontested Republican primary earlier this month. President Donald Trump gave Kean his \u201cComplete and Total Endorsement\u201d in a Truth Social post from May.<\/p>\n

\u201cHE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!\u201d Trump wrote.<\/p>\n

The congressman said in a statement<\/u><\/span> on the day of the primary that he was \u201cmore energized than ever\u201d and \u201cfocused on my recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kean\u2019s team was active during his absence. The Republican has introduced legislation<\/u><\/span> and approved staff trips<\/u><\/span>. His social media accounts have been active with first-person posts. He also traded eight different stocks in March, a NOTUS review of congressional financial disclosures<\/u><\/span> found.<\/p>\n

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The New Jersey Republican disclosed the illness in a speech on the House floor shortly after his return to the U.S. Capitol.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":792,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-congress"],"yoast_head":"\nTom Kean Jr. Reveals Depression Caused His Months-Long House Absence - Modern Home Journals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=793\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tom Kean Jr. Reveals Depression Caused His Months-Long House Absence - Modern Home Journals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The New Jersey Republican disclosed the illness in a speech on the House floor shortly after his return to the U.S. Capitol.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=793\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Modern Home Journals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-30T15:43:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=793#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=793\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0\"},\"headline\":\"Tom Kean Jr. Reveals Depression Caused His Months-Long House Absence\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-30T15:43:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=793\"},\"wordCount\":585,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=793#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/2ddd241aa1436c113b9041e63909bc8c-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Congress\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=793#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=793\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=793\",\"name\":\"Tom Kean Jr. Reveals Depression Caused His Months-Long House Absence - Modern Home Journals\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=793#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=793#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/2ddd241aa1436c113b9041e63909bc8c-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-30T15:43:04+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=793#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=793\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=793#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/2ddd241aa1436c113b9041e63909bc8c-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/2ddd241aa1436c113b9041e63909bc8c-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"Rep. 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