{"id":857,"date":"2026-07-02T15:39:52","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T15:39:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=857"},"modified":"2026-07-02T15:39:52","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T15:39:52","slug":"tom-keans-absence-shows-how-congress-has-failed-itself","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=857","title":{"rendered":"Tom Kean’s Absence Shows How Congress Has Failed Itself"},"content":{"rendered":"
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About a decade ago, Rep. Adam Smith was oddly relieved when his chronic hip pain grew so awful that he had to have surgeries and miss time on Capitol Hill.<\/p>\n

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\u201cNow at least I have something socially acceptable wrong with me,\u201d the Washington Democrat recalled thinking.<\/p>\n

In fact, Smith was battling deep anxiety and depression, leading to a three-month span where he missed 96% of roll calls <\/u><\/span>in the House. His public explanations only cited the hip issues and never mentioned his mental health.<\/p>\n

Public acceptance of mental health issues has improved in the last 10 years, but as the recent struggles of Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-New Jersey) demonstrated, the stigma \u2014 or the perception of stigma \u2014 is still a difficult thing for politicians to discuss.<\/p>\n

After missing nearly four months of work in Congress, Kean revealed Tuesday that he was diagnosed with depression, and it was severe enough that he was hospitalized. In a brief floor speech, Kean said that he was a \u201cprivate person by nature\u201d and for a while didn\u2019t want to talk about his depression.<\/p>\n

Without going into detail about his treatment, Kean indicated he would continue to serve. Republican leaders expect him to run for reelection in his battleground district in the New Jersey suburbs.<\/p>\n

\u201cRecovery is possible,\u201d he said. Kean declined to answer any follow-up questions from reporters.<\/p>\n

There are no formal rules for lawmakers around disclosing their health issues and no requirements regarding what they reveal to their constituents, party leaders or even their own staff.<\/p>\n

Other politicians who have dealt with similar mental health issues thanked Kean for finally speaking out about the matter, but some wished he had revealed the issue sooner.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m living proof it\u2019s possible to be a United States congressman and cope with a condition like major depression disorder,\u201d Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-New York), who more than a decade ago was hospitalized for suicidal ideation, told NOTUS Tuesday. \u201cWe have to be honest and open about whatever medical challenges we\u2019re facing. We owe the public nothing but complete transparency. That\u2019s the price we pay for elected office.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each lawmaker is effectively an independent contractor making up his or her own rules about what they reveal about their health. Some have been very transparent, such as Sen. John Fetterman revealing he was treated at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for \u201cmajor depression\u201d in early 2023, following a stroke he had during his 2022 Senate campaign.<\/p>\n

The Pennsylvania Democrat\u2019s staff released detailed statements about who his doctor was and all the treatments<\/u><\/span> he received after several weeks of in-patient neuropsychiatry treatments. Some colleagues visited him in the hospital, and after his release, Fetterman did several long interviews detailing his struggles.<\/p>\n

Others have opened up about the issue and ended up feeling rejected by voters and colleagues. In late August 2024, then-Rep. Yadira Caraveo (D-Colorado) revealed that she had \u201csevere\u201d depression that she sought help for at Walter Reed, hoping that speaking would help \u201cdestigmatize mental illness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Caraveo lost her reelection in a battleground district outside Denver by about 2,500 votes and, as she considered running again in 2026, gave detailed interviews about her past suicidal thoughts<\/u><\/span> and all she had overcome.<\/p>\n

Support from Democratic Party officials fell apart and made it pointless to run again, she said in a statement last year. \u201cI hope that one day we will see more acceptance and understanding of illnesses like depression, and that leaders at all levels will be able to support those in need in actions and not just words.\u201d<\/p>\n

One fellow Republican mocked Kean\u2019s explanation for his lengthy absence. \u201cWho gets to take four months off of work because they\u2019re sad?\u201d Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert said, telling TMZ Kean\u2019s explanation was \u201cembarrassing\u201d<\/u><\/span> and he should just \u201cbuild up a tolerance to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Until returning Tuesday, Kean was not seen in public for more than 110 days, during which President Donald Trump publicly endorsed his reelection campaign and he easily won his party\u2019s nomination for another term.<\/p>\n

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Asked Tuesday whether Kean should run for reelection, House Speaker Mike Johnson called it \u201ca really unfair question\u201d and told reporters he watched Kean\u2019s speech.<\/p>\n

\u201cI sent him a note as soon as he walked off the floor and said we\u2019re in your corner and we\u2019re behind you 100 percent,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Democrats were careful to try not to politicize the issue. \u201cWell, that\u2019s a decision that his constituents are going to have to make, but I wish him well in terms of a full and complete recovery,\u201d House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told NOTUS.<\/p>\n

Some lawmakers believe addressing the issue could be a net benefit politically because so many Americans now have dealt with some form of mental illness.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like, if you\u2019re open and honest with the public, it\u2019s going to make your constituents more empathetic. Most people are decent, and the stigma around mental health has been eroding,\u201d Torres said.<\/p>\n

However, Torres faced his most serious mental health struggles as a young adult, long before he entered electoral politics. He now represents a heavily Democratic district that he\u2019s won by 50 to 60 percentage points.<\/p>\n

Kean\u2019s district is only about 60 miles west of Torres\u2019, but it\u2019s a world apart politically \u2014 a perennial tossup seat that\u2019s been decided by 5 percentage points or less in the last four elections.<\/p>\n

Even Fetterman\u2019s detailed revelations about his deep depression came soon after he won in 2022 and more than five years before he would have to face voters again.<\/p>\n

Getting healthier oftentimes requires time away from elected office.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what happened to former Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy, a Democratic House member for 16 years who served in leadership roles and whose battles with addiction and mental health were out in the open.<\/p>\n

Only after retiring in January 2011, at 43 years old, did he successfully tackle his personal demons. Sober for more than 15 years, Kennedy founded several nonprofits focused on mental health issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope his story opens the door to a broader conversation about mental health care in America,\u201d Kennedy told NOTUS in a statement about Kean. \u201cLike most people who achieve long-term recovery, I was aided by tangible, ongoing support when facing mental health and addiction. I enjoyed health insurance that helped pay for my treatment, caring family members, and a connection with a community that had my back.\u201d<\/p>\n

The day after Kean returned to the House, he introduced to penalize providers who fail to treat mental health the same as physical ailments. That proposal adds greater enforcement tools to a mental health parity law that then-Rep. Kennedy championed in Congress and considers his most important accomplishment.<\/p>\n

Smith empathizes with Kean\u2019s initial decision to hide what he went through.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019ve never gone through depression or anxiety, you just don\u2019t know what it is, and you don\u2019t know how hard it is, and how it consumes every second of your life,\u201d he told NOTUS in an interview Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Smith, who wrote a book about his past health struggles in 2023, regrets that he wasn\u2019t fully forthcoming to his constituents or his colleagues.<\/p>\n

\u201cI explained to people I was recovering from hip surgery, which I\u2019ll be honest with you \u2014 that was not entirely honest,\u201d he said, noting it was a \u201chuge part\u201d of his health issues. \u201cBut you know, anxiety is what made those hip surgeries so much more difficult than they otherwise would have been.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Lawmakers who\u2019ve battled depression hope to end stigma, yet have no concrete ideas to help.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":856,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-congress"],"yoast_head":"\nTom Kean's Absence Shows How Congress Has Failed Itself - 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=857\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tom Kean's Absence Shows How Congress Has Failed Itself - Modern Home Journals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lawmakers who\u2019ve battled depression hope to end stigma, yet have no concrete ideas to help.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=857\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Modern Home Journals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-02T15:39:52+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=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=857#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=857\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0\"},\"headline\":\"Tom Kean’s Absence Shows How Congress Has Failed Itself\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-02T15:39:52+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=857\"},\"wordCount\":1293,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=857#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/89e0170da0515c7e3462d653006e67c1-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Congress\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=857#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=857\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=857\",\"name\":\"Tom Kean's Absence Shows How Congress Has Failed Itself - Modern Home Journals\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=857#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=857#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/89e0170da0515c7e3462d653006e67c1-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-02T15:39:52+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=857#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=857\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=857#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/89e0170da0515c7e3462d653006e67c1-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/89e0170da0515c7e3462d653006e67c1-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"UNITED STATES - JUNE 30: Rep. 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