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An absent House lawmaker is expected to miss several more weeks of work after vanishing from Capitol Hill and the campaign trail due to an undisclosed illness.
Rep. Tom Kean Jr., R-N.J., has not voted in more than two months as House Republicans’ slim majority races to approve must-pass legislation ahead of the midterm elections.
His father, former Gov. Tom Kean Sr., R-N.J., says his son may not return to Washington until June or later as he recovers from a “serious” illness.
“You can’t say definitely, but their best guess is now he’ll be out in two or three weeks,” Kean Sr., told NJ.com in an interview last week, referring to his son’s doctors. “Any time you’ve been through a serious illness, you can’t be 100% the day you get back. You’re gonna be able to do things, but gradually ramping up.”
Rep. Thomas Kean Jr., R-N.J., who is recovering from an undisclosed illness, last voted on March 5. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
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“When he can start to go to Congress again, that’s something the doctor wants to reserve judgment on,” he added.
Kean Jr., 57, last voted on March 5 and has missed all 88 roll call votes in the lower chamber since then, according to GovTrack, a website that monitors congressional absences.
Representatives for the New Jersey Republican have contended for weeks that he will restart his congressional duties “soon,” but that timeline has remained vague.
A spokesperson for Kean Jr. did not immediately respond to a request for comment about when the two-term lawmaker plans to return to Washington.
Kean Sr. did not elaborate about where his son is receiving treatment for the undisclosed diagnosis, but confirmed he is under the care of multiple doctors.
He also declined to disclose the nature of his son’s illness, telling CNN, “That’s up to him.” The former two-term…
