--- title: Rep. Tom Kean Returns to Congress, Explains Mysterious Four-Month Absence description: The New Jersey congressman revealed that he had been diagnosed with depression and spent an extended period in the hospital receiving treatment. canonical: https://time.com/article/2026/06/30/tom-kean-returns-congress-depression-diagnosis/ author: Rebecca Schneid article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-06-30T16:42:31.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-06-30T18:55:23.986Z article:section: Politics og:title: Rep. Tom Kean Returns to Congress, Explains Mysterious Four-Month Absence og:description: The New Jersey congressman revealed that he had been diagnosed with depression and spent an extended period in the hospital receiving treatment. og:url: https://time.com/article/2026/06/30/tom-kean-returns-congress-depression-diagnosis/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt77e13772ec2fa2eb/6a43f6a34eeb8b89d59ede3e/tom-kean-congress-absence-depression-diagnosis.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5000 og:image:height: 2813 og:image:alt: tom-kean-congress-absence-depression-diagnosis.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Rep. Tom Kean Returns to Congress, Explains Mysterious Four-Month Absence twitter:description: The New Jersey congressman revealed that he had been diagnosed with depression and spent an extended period in the hospital receiving treatment. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt77e13772ec2fa2eb/6a43f6a34eeb8b89d59ede3e/tom-kean-congress-absence-depression-diagnosis.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Rep. Tom Kean Returns to Congress, Explains Mysterious Four-Month Absence > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=a37bf07e-a1d7-4a00-9745-c276720c000a&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr. Explains He Was Treated for Depression During Months-Long Absence From Congress [Watch (HLS stream): Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr. Explains He Was Treated for Depression During Months-Long Absence From Congress](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/AzCV8zeo.m3u8) (2:15)  _Published 2026-06-30. New Jersey Rep. Tom Kean returned to Congress on Tuesday after an almost four-month absence from the lower chamber, revealing that he had been diagnosed with depression and spent an extended period in the hospital receiving treatment._  by [Rebecca Schneid](https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/)  ## Rebecca Schneid Reporter Jun 30, 2026 4:42 PM UTC  by [Rebecca Schneid](https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/)  ## Rebecca Schneid Reporter Jun 30, 2026 4:42 PM UTC New Jersey Rep. [Tom Kean ](https://time.com/article/2026/05/29/tom-kean-house-congress-absence/)returned to Congress on Tuesday after an almost four-month absence from the lower chamber, revealing that he had been diagnosed with [depression](https://time.com/6308096/therapy-mental-health-worse-us/) and spent an extended period in the hospital receiving treatment. “When people hear the word depression, many people think simply feel it means feeling sad, but depression is so much more than that,” the Republican representative said in remarks on the floor of the House. “It is physical, it is emotional, and until you experience it yourself, it is difficult to fully understand how powerful this illness can be.” Kean has missed more than 140 votes since he was last in the House on March 5\. He and his office had previously offered scant information about the reason for his prolonged absence, attributing it to an undisclosed medical condition and saying more than once over the past couple months that he would soon be back at work. The lack of further detail spurred growing frustration and questions within Washington, D.C., and his New Jersey district. **Read More:**[ _Trump Is in Freefall—and Democrats Still Might Blow It_](https://time.com/article/2026/03/31/trump-polling-democrats-midterm-elections/) “When I first informed the public that I was dealing with a medical issue, I was still trying to understand what was happening myself,” Kean continued in his Tuesday remarks. “When I said I hope to return in a matter of weeks, I believed it.” While he hoped to return to his work quickly, he said, “There is no timeline for healing. There is no timeline for recovery, only the work of getting better one day at a time.” Kean, who is running for a third term, has continued to garner support from Republican leadership despite the mounting frustration surrounding his absence in the narrowly divided House. Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday that the New Jersey congressman will be “re-elected easily this fall.” “He has a health condition as he said. If it were me, I would have been more specific about that, and I encourage him to be. He will be today,” Johnson told reporters shortly before Kean took to the House floor. “It’s not an uncommon kind of condition and ailment that he’s been fighting, and I think people resonate with it.” President Donald Trump also gave Kean a “Complete and Total Endorsement” earlier this month on [Truth Social](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116677963449948858), calling him a “Great Representative for the People of New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District” and “Tremendous Advocate of our America First Agenda” ahead of the state’s primary elections. Democrats, meanwhile, planned to target Kean’s [competitive district](https://time.com/7331992/democrats-dnc-memo-elections/), which Trump won by just one point in 2024, in the midterms, even before his absence, and Democratic candidates for the seat increasingly honed in on his absence during his time away. “I sincerely wish him well. I hope he has a good recovery. But he’s absolutely failed this district, so we’re going to hold him accountable for his voting record,” former Navy pilot [Rebecca Bennett](https://time.com/article/2026/06/02/rebecca-bennett-wins-primary-to-take-on-absent-republican-congressman/), who won the Democratic primary to take on Kean in November, said in an interview with [Politico](https://www.politico.com/news/2026/06/03/democrat-rebecca-bennett-tom-kean-jr-midterm-00948885?nid=0000014f-1646-d88f-a1cf-5f46b6de0000&nname=new-jersey-playbook&nrid=0000014f-b3c4-d27b-ab4f-f3c63bab0001) earlier this month. She pointed to the congressman’s vote in favor of Trump’s “[One Big Beautiful Bill,](https://time.com/7300177/trump-signs-big-beautiful-bill/)” which helped get the sweeping tax and spending package across the finish line in a narrow 218-214 House vote. Bennett told supporters in Bridgewater after her win that she was “coming for” Kean. Addressing him, she said, “You were nowhere to be found when Donald Trump started another forever war in the Middle East. You were nowhere to be found when DHS tried to put an ICE detention facility in Roxbury and you were nowhere to be found when Trump held up the funding for the Gateway Tunnel.” ## Transcript This is not an easy speech for me to give. I am a private person by nature, and I have spent most of my life talking about the people that I represent, the issues facing our communities, and the work that continues to be done. We're talking about myself has never come naturally. But I believe that I owe an explanation to the people of New Jersey's seventh district, to my colleagues in this chamber and to the American people for my absence. Several months ago, due to health concerns, I entered the hospital for some testing. I did not believe that this would result in a long term stay. I was given the diagnosis of depression. Now, when people hear the word depression, many people think simply 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. The doctors recommended that I remain in the hospital to address my illness, I began to understand not only my diagnosis, but how long depression had been affecting my life. When 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. Those were the best estimates the doctors could provide. But as the over 48 million of my fellow Americans being treated for this illness have come to discover, there is no timeline for healing. There is no timeline for recovery, only the work of getting better one day at a time. Today, I am grateful that I listened to my doctors, and I am grateful for the exceptional care that I received from doctors, nurses and support staff. I am grateful that I accepted help because today I stand before you healthier, stronger and excited to return to the work that I love. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/06/30/tom-kean-returns-congress-depression-diagnosis/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/06/30/tom-kean-returns-congress-depression-diagnosis/"},"headline":"Rep. 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