After a mysterious, unexplained disappearance, today, Congressman Tom Kean, Jr., has suddenly reappeared.

Following his last House appearance on March 5, Congressman Kean missed 100+ votes in Congress and offered no specific explanation about his whereabouts or reasons for neglecting his job. In late April, he released a cryptic statement citing a "personal medical issue” and then went silent and unseen again.

Today, we learned Kean was diagnosed with depression and hospitalized at a private facility. While we wish Congressman Kean a full recovery, he should have been transparent much earlier and told his constituents months ago why he needed to take a break and receive treatment.

An open and honest announcement about his illness would have helped to reduce stigma about mental health struggles for the constituents he represents who also face challenges. He could have been a role model for stopping the stigma around mental health that prevents too many from seeking treatment.

His nearly four-month absence without keeping constituents updated remains shameful. This does not help to remove the stigma of mental health if a public leader is secretive about it for months. The average constituent represented by Congressman Kean could not just disappear from work or other obligations without telling those who depended on them why they had left, where they were, or when they would return.

Serving in Congress is a privileged position. It pays $174,000 annually with health benefits. The government pays for Kean’s offices in New Jersey, and Washington, D.C., plus staff and travel expenses.

Congressman Kean officially represents 783,000 residents in 95 municipalities across six counties -– both those who voted for him and those who did not.

While Congressman Kean took time out to recover, we wonder if he thought about his votes against policies and programs that help people faced with their own mental health and medical crises. He voted for Medicaid work requirements when he had the luxury to stop working to care for himself.

Finding Kean Fridays first organized in March 2025 with a simple message: We demanded an in-person Town Hall with Congressman Kean to answer our questions. We organized visits to his Bernardsville office and never found him there. We handed staff a petition signed by hundreds that was never acknowledged.

Instead, on May 1, 2025, Kean abruptly shut down his Bernardsville office and moved to Lebanon, into a private corporate office park, where the landlord prohibited groups from gathering in the always virtually empty parking lot to voice their displeasure.

The landlord even called the police to quell about a dozen peaceful constituents who simply wanted to stand outside Kean’s office doors, and await their turn to speak with his staff.

This is not how you represent the people you are supposed to serve!

Congressman Kean has a responsibility to those he represents to meet with us, hear our concerns, and answer questions. Finding Kean Fridays is happy to welcome back Congressman Kean. We wish him a full recovery and hope to finally see him in person!

About Finding Kean Fridays

Finding Kean Fridays is a grassroots coalition working to peacefully demand accountability from the elected officials in Congressional District NJ-07. Follow us on Facebook (FindingKean2025); and Instagram (findingkeanfridays) for updates.