Congress
Kean returns to House, says depression diagnosis led to four-month absence
Rep. Tom Kean Jr. made his first appearance on the House floor in nearly four months Tuesday and revealed a depression diagnosis led to his extended hospitalization.
The New Jersey Republican’s floor remarks were his first public disclosure about the absence that went publicly unexplained for more than 100 days. His staff blamed a personal medical condition without providing other details, sparking widespread concern and speculation as they assured reporters that all would be revealed when he returned.
Kean explained in the speech that his diagnosis came after medical testing and that he did not know at the outset how long he would be hospitalized.
“When I said I hoped to return in a matter of weeks, I believed it,” he continued. “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
Kean, the son of a beloved former governor of the state, is New Jersey’s most vulnerable House Republican. He will face Democrat Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot, in the November midterms.
In addition to being absent from Washington, Kean has also been missing from the campaign trail for the last several months, boosting Democratic hopes of flipping his seat. Kean, who won the June 2 primary for his seat unopposed, has insisted he’s fully committed to winning a third term and has a fundraiser scheduled for later Tuesday.
Even Kean’s political allies spent the last several months largely in the dark about his condition. The other two House Republicans from New Jersey, Reps. Jeff Van Drew and Chris Smith, said in April that they had tried reaching out to Kean out of concern but had not heard back — Van Drew described it as “radio silence” — and local party leaders in Kean’s district were similarly left out of the loop.
The mystery of Kean’s absence was only fueled further by reports of empty houses and ominous statements from his team that there were “no cameras” where he was.
“I am a private person by nature,” Kean said Tuesday. “Talking about myself has never come naturally, but I believe that I owe an explanation to the people of New Jersey’s 7th District, to my colleagues in this chamber and to the American people for my absence.”
Speaker Mike Johnson said in April that he had spoken with Kean by phone, and later described Kean’s condition as something “very common” and “not a scandalous thing at all.”
Speaking shortly before Kean addressed the House Tuesday, Johnson gently chided him for his secrecy: “If it were me, I would have been more specific about that, and I encouraged him to be.”
Kean’s absence has complicated Johnson’s efforts to pass key legislation through a closely divided House where every Republican vote has been precious.
Despite reassurances from Kean’s political team that he was still seeking reelection, his prolonged absence led to speculation in Republican circles that the party would need a late replacement.
Laura Ali, the Republican chair of Morris County, which overlaps with Kean’s district, told Blue Light News earlier this month that Republicans who “would want to be” considered to replace Kean and “have made their intentions quite clear.” Ali and other local Republicans grew nervous as Kean had effectively ceded the early summer campaign playing field to Bennett.
“Yeah, I am nervous — of course I am, because it’s a very unsettling situation,” Ali said at the time.
Johnson predicted Tuesday that Kean “gets elected easily this fall.”
Kean won reelection against Democrat Sue Altman by 5 points in 2024 — an unusually strong year for Republicans in New Jersey. This year he faces what’s shaping up to be a tougher political environment and an opponent who Republicans, by all appearances, would have preferred to avoid facing.
As Bennett ran a more centrist campaign than her primary rivals, a Republican super PAC posed as a left-leaning group and attacked Bennett as “weak” for not calling to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Bennett’s biography closely matches Democratic New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who last year defied expectations with a landslide victory over Republican Jack Ciattarelli despite eight years of full Democratic control of New Jersey that saw rising energy costs. Sherrill’s statewide victory included a 2-point win in Kean’s 7th District.
The House has been back in town for a few hours, but GOP leaders may already be forced to send members home early.
A handful of House Republicans are threatening to shut down floor business Tuesday over frustrations about legislation that would fund the government past the midterms.
If GOP leaders can’t adopt a rule to open up floor debate, there’s little incentive to stay in town, especially so close to elections when members are eager to get back to their districts to campaign.
Speaker Mike Johnson can only lose a handful of members with full attendance. A small group of hard-liners oppose a provision in the Senate-passed continuing resolution punting a hemp product ban deadline. Others are angry about Johnson’s decision to put the stopgap bill on a fast-tracked method requiring two-thirds majority to pass — as Democrats are likely to support it.
To be clear: that suspension vote track also means the stopgap is poised to pass regardless of any subsequent GOP revolt that would gum up further floor business.
House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris said he plans to vote against the rule Tuesday over the hemp language.
And Rep. Chip Roy sent a letter to Appropriations Chair Tom Cole and Budget Chair Jodey Arrington Monday night urging opposition to the CR. Roy, who voted against advancing the procedural step in a Rules panel meeting yesterday, said the spending bill does not prevent taxpayer funds from going to abortion services.
“The CR now before Congress does not renew that protection, allowing federal taxpayer dollars to once again flow to Planned Parenthood,” Roy wrote in the letter, shared exclusively with Blue Light News, adding members “should be prepared to account for those votes accordingly.”
Other hardliners wouldn’t say how they plan to vote on Monday night. Rep. Keith Self told Blue Light News, “We’ll see if the rule comes up.”
But if the House does cut their September work period short — with the possibility of not returning until mid-November — that leaves little time this year for any other legislation, including the Senate-passed Russian sanctions bill, which is headed nowhere fast in the House.
GOP leaders omitted it from a list of bills to be voted on this week as the thin House Republican majority is split over intervening in Russia’s war with Ukraine. Meanwhile, many Democrats are wary of handing Trump any new tariff powers.
Asked whether the bill might pass through her committee on the way to the House floor, Rules Chair Virginia Foxx said, “I have no idea. Nobody’s talking about it.”
What else we’re watching:
— REPUBLICANS POISED TO CENSURE EDWARDS: The House will vote Tuesday on censuring Rep. Chuck Edwards — and GOP leaders aren’t coming to his rescue. A critical mass of GOP members seem to be lining up behind the effort after an Ethics Committee report outlined a pattern of sexual harassment by Edwards toward two of his young female staffers. Edwards told Mia the probe was “an abysmal handled process.” House GOP leaders don’t appear to be swaying Republicans to vote against the measure.
— GOP TRIES TO THREAD NEEDLE ON DATA CENTER SUPPORT: Republicans found themselves walking a fine line on data centers Monday — and Democrats are eager to capitalize on the issue igniting voters across the country. House Republicans returning from August recess acknowledged growing concerns from constituents about data centers. But they also tried to support President Donald Trump, who Monday declared communities that reject centers will end up “backwards and poor” while China makes advances in the technology. Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries blasted Republicans for being “pro-data center without any restraints,” making his strongest rebuke yet of the tech industry’s massive infrastructure buildout.
Riley Rogerson, Chris Marquette and Kelsey Brugger contributed to this report.
Democrat Brian Poindexter’s first general-election ad in his campaign to unseat Rep. Max Miller doesn’t directly mention the Republican’s well-publicized family drama — but it makes the subtext impossible to ignore.
The minute-long ad titled “Daughters” features Poindexter’s three children — Ashley, Makayla and Taylor — telling stories about their dad as they sit in front of family photos. His campaign is launching a six-figure buy on digital, cable and broadcast television this week.
“He always shows up: for family dinner, for our games, to help with homework — even when he’s not helpful,“ the daughters say. “He shows up for everyone, coworkers, neighbors and our whole community. For anyone who’s getting hurt or needs a hand.”
Poindexter has leaned on his working-class background and a focus on affordability issues in his campaign against Miller, without explicitly making an issue of Miller’s legal battle with his ex-wife. In the “Daughters” ad, Poindexter again attempts to thread the needle, amplifying his family values and commitment to community without attacking Miller directly.
Miller is facing allegations of abuse from his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, the daughter of Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno. Miller has denied any wrongdoing, including accusations that he poured hot water on Emily Moreno, held a gun to her head and broke his daughter’s collarbone.
The allegations have put national spotlight on the competitive Cleveland-area district, and Democrats are investing to flip the seat.
The ad ends with Poindexter saying in a voiceover, “I’m not going to D.C. for me. I’m going for my daughters — and yours.”
Less than a month ago, a huge bipartisan Senate majority voted to honor the late Sen. Lindsey Graham and pass legislation he pushed aimed at sanctioning Russia’s trading partners.
Now the bill is at serious risk of languishing in the House, where it is suffering from significant Democratic opposition, lack of Republican enthusiasm and fading impetus to honor the late South Carolina senator.
GOP leaders omitted it from a list of bills to be voted on this week, and as top Republican lawmakers filed into the Capitol Monday after a five-week summer recess, none said passing the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act was anywhere near top of mind.
“We just came from a chairmen’s meeting, and nobody brought it up,” House Rules Chair Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) said in an interview.
Asked whether the bill might pass through her committee on the way to the House floor, she said, “I have no idea. Nobody’s talking about it.”
Speaker Mike Johnson acknowledged an uphill battle Monday and was noncommittal on whether the bill would hit the House floor after passing the Senate on an 86-11 vote.
“We’ll see,” Johnson said, blaming Democratic opposition for the uncertainty. “We’ve been very consistent on taking a strong hand against Russia. So we’ll see what happens.”
The measure’s backers in the House and Senate argue it would give the White House new leverage as it leans on Russia to end the war in Ukraine — including by handing President Donald Trump new tariff tools.
But with the GOP majority split over intervening in Russia’s war with Ukraine and many Democrats wary of giving Trump any new tariff powers, the bill doesn’t appear to be a top priority for Republican leaders as they plan out their final legislative sprint before the election.
Republicans are also openly speculating whether Johnson will keep the House in session for four weeks in September as scheduled — particularly if lawmakers pass a bill as expected Tuesday to punt government funding to December.
Johnson is already facing internal resistance to getting his scheduled bills on the floor this week, with some hard-right members unhappy about how GOP leaders have handled government funding and other issues. If they vote down a procedural measure setting up debate on those bills Tuesday, that could spell the end of the pre-election House session.
“I don’t know if we’re going to pass anything,” said Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas), one of the ultraconservatives threatening to frustrate the leadership’s plans.
At the same time, a handful of hawkish Republicans are warning that the House needs to stay and bring the sanctions bill across the finish line before heading home for campaign season.
“I think it’s very important to pass the sanctions bill,” said Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), a defense hawk who is retiring from the House. “It’s a failure to not do so.”
Even if leaders make a push to get the sanctions bill on the floor, it’s unclear if it has enough Republican support to pass. Several conservatives who have vocally opposed Ukraine aid in the past said they haven’t looked into the legislation yet.
“Haven’t seen it. Haven’t heard about it. All I can say is in 14 years I’ve never voted to sanction a sovereign country,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said in an interview Monday.
While leaders could seek to skirt Republican opposition by using a fast-track procedure requiring a two-thirds-majority vote, it’s unclear if there are enough Democrats to push it over that threshold.
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries expressed “serious concerns” with the measure at a news conference Monday, saying top Democrats are worried that the bill “risks providing tariff and sanctions authority to Donald Trump and his administration that we believe they will abuse.”
The Democrats who are opposed include the party’s leaders on the Foreign Affairs and Ways and Means committees — Reps. Greg Meeks of New York and Richard Neal of Massachusetts, respectively — who argue that Trump already has all the tariff powers he needs.
“Donald Trump already has ample authority to impose sanctions on the companies, individuals, and vessels propping up a Russian war machine that continues its deadly attacks on Ukraine,” they wrote in a Monday joint statement with Democratic Rep.. Don Beyer of Virginia and Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. “Congress does not need to greenlight new tariff authority for the President to impose those sanctions on Russia today.”
Rep. Brad Schneider of Illinois, leader of the centrist New Democrat Coalition, also opposes the sanctions bill and said in an interview Monday, “I’m opposed to giving the executive branch more authority that was rightly placed with the legislative branch a very long time ago.”
“We’ll see and evaluate if it comes to the floor,” Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, the No. 2 House Democrat, said in an interview. “But there’s a great deal of concern about giving this president, who continues to drive up costs with tariffs for working Americans, even more authority to do that.”
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