Tom Kean Jr. stopped attending more than 100 House votes due to depression
Congressman Thomas Kean Jr. practically disappeared for nearly four months and, when he reappeared before the full Capitol, he explained that he suffers from depression
Thomas Kean Jr., congressman from New Jersey, was absent from the Capitol for nearly four months and, given the hermetic silence generated by his absence, Democrats demanded that he be sanctioned or even forced to resign from his seat.
The only argument presented that justified his absence was the fact that he suffered from a delicate health problem, which only President Donald Trump knew to the extent of supporting his campaign in search of a hypothetical reelection ahead of the primaries in his home state, through which his objective will be to continue representing the 7th congressional district of New Jersey, as he has done since 2023.
"Congressman Kean fully understands the need for transparency regarding his health. He plans to disclose all relevant information, but for now he is following his doctors' instructions and focused on his recovery," his spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News earlier this month.
Surprisingly, the 57-year-old politician returned to work this day and, in a speech before the Capitol plenary session, explained that he suffers from depression.
"Several months ago, due to health problems, I was admitted to the hospital for tests. I didn't think this would mean a long stay. I was diagnosed with depression.
The doctors recommended that I stay in the hospital to treat my illness as it would be the quickest way to recover, and to be honest, I had my doubts. "I didn't think I had time for it... Like a lot of people, I thought I could just hold on," he explained.
Thomas Kean Jr. said that depression is a silent illness suffered by millions of people unable to express what they feel for fear of being judged.
"As the more than 48 million Americans receiving treatment for this disease have discovered, there is no fixed time frame for cure. There is no fixed time frame for recovery. All that remains is the effort to improve day by day," he stressed.
The congressman from New Jersey is the son of Thomas Kean Sr., former governor of that entity between 1982 and 1990, and his case is not unique, since in 2023, John Fetterman, Democratic senator from Pennsylvania, was absent for six weeks while receiving treatment for depression, an illness against which he continues to fight.