Rep. Thomas Kean signed a congressional disclosure form Friday acknowledging five stock trades made during his months-long absence from Congress, adding a new layer to a stretch in which he has missed more than 100 votes since March 5. The filing came as the New Jersey Republican also told allies and local audiences that he expects to be back voting and back on the campaign trail soon.
NOTUS reported that Friday’s filing was the second time in two months that Kean filed a congressional stock disclosure form while away from Washington. The trades covered April 14 through May 17, and the timing sharpened questions around the tom kean jr absence impact as his time out of the Capitol has now stretched across much of the spring.
Kean has said he is dealing with a personal health matter, and he told The New Jersey Globe on Thursday that his doctors are confident he will make a full recovery. He said he anticipated he would return to voting and to the campaign trail within the next couple of weeks. He has not been photographed in public in weeks, and no public sightings of him have been reported.
The absence has also been visible at home and in his political schedule. Neighbors in Westfield, New Jersey, said his house has appeared unoccupied since before he started missing votes, and Kean canceled a speaking event Thursday at the Morris County Chamber of Commerce breakfast. Last week, he also began making calls to fellow Republicans in New Jersey to assure them his reelection campaign is moving forward.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said he last spoke to Kean on the phone a few weeks ago. Asked about the situation, Johnson said, “I don’t even know the details, and I respect that. It’s members’ personal privacy on whatever matters they’re dealing with.”
Kean first won the House seat in 2022, flipping New Jersey’s district from blue to red, and he won reelection in 2024 by six points. The district remains competitive, and Democrats hope to flip it in November. For now, though, Kean is running uncontested in the June 2 primary, and he is signaling that his return is close enough to matter before the race fully shifts into summer.
