When Rep. Tom Kean Jr.<\/a> revealed Tuesday his extended absence from the House was due to inpatient treatment for depression<\/a>, he ended months of speculation but also fueled a delicate conversation: Just how much privacy are elected officials entitled to?<\/p>\n

The New Jersey Republican offered only scant details about his condition during the four months he went missing. And while colleagues of both parties expressed sympathy for his mental health challenges and gratitude that he has now returned, many hedged their comments by saying Kean could and perhaps should have said something earlier.<\/p>\n

\u201cCertainly everyone has a right to privacy and to health care and to the mental health care that they need,\u201d said Rep. Maxine Dexter<\/a>, an Oregon Democrat and physician, while adding that members are obligated to be \u201ctransparent and forthcoming.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou give up the right to privacy in a certain respect when you run for office and represent that many people,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd so I do challenge our colleagues to be more transparent when these things happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even Speaker Mike Johnson<\/a> suggested Kean should have said more sooner at a news conference Tuesday: \u201cIf it were me, I would have been more specific about that, and I encouraged him to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kean appeared to anticipate that he might be criticized for saying so little as he missed more than 100 votes \u2014 no matter how sensitive his diagnosis might be. In the floor speech he gave upon returning Tuesday, he described himself as a \u201cprivate person by nature\u201d and said he \u201cwas still trying to understand what was happening\u201d when his office first attributed his absence to a \u201cmedical issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I said I hoped to return in a matter of weeks, I believed it,\u201d Kean said. \u201cThose were the best estimates the doctors could provide.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other parts of his approach, however, raised eyebrows. His social media accounts continued as if he was still at the Capitol, fueling more questions about his malady. Reports of an empty house back in New Jersey<\/a> and an aide\u2019s offhand comment that there were \u201cno cameras\u201d where Kean<\/a> was only added to the speculation.<\/p>\n

Many fellow House members spoke carefully Tuesday about Kean\u2019s condition while also making clear that it should not excuse him from accountability for how his absence was handled.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think many of us have a tremendous degree of empathy and understanding for a mental health diagnosis,\u201d Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez<\/a> (D-N.Y.) said in an interview. \u201cThere’s a valid discussion here about when it comes to the volume of an absence, what is our responsibility to our constituents in communicating around that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Attitudes and practices surrounding mental health care in big-time politics have been transformed since 1972, when Sen. Thomas Eagleton of Missouri lost his No. 2 spot<\/a> on the Democratic presidential ticket after his bouts with depression were publicized.<\/p>\n

While the subject remains taboo among some, more lawmakers have talked openly about their mental health struggles as the disease has grown in prevalence among the general public.<\/p>\n

When Sen. John Fetterman<\/a> (D-Pa.) was hospitalized for clinical depression three years ago, he almost immediately explained his health issues<\/a> and offered routine public updates.<\/p>\n

Fetterman\u2019s transparency was met with plaudits and empathy from his congressional colleagues at the time, but he later said in an interview that he had regrets about opening up.<\/p>\n

He blamed \u201cpeople in the media\u201d for having \u201cweaponized\u201d his illness, he told the New York Times<\/a> a year ago: \u201cIt shook me that people are willing to weaponize that I got help.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others have been similarly candid. Rep. Adam Smith<\/a> (D-Wash.) opened up<\/a> in 2023 about overcoming a debilitating mix of anxiety, depression and the side effects of drugs used to treat them. Sen. Tina Smith<\/a> (D-Minn.) and Reps. Ritchie Torres<\/a> (D-N.Y.) and Becca Balint<\/a> (D-Vt.) have spoken about their struggles, too.<\/p>\n

Torres quickly responded to Kean\u2019s announcement in a social media post<\/u><\/a>, noting that while he sympathized, those in elected positions also have \u201ca duty of transparency.\u201d<\/p>\n

Balint in an interview questioned whether staying silent on the issue for months served to \u201cperpetuate the stigma\u201d around mental health challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m glad that he is being open in public about it,\u201d she said, while adding, \u201cI wish that he had done that months ago, to even just make just a general statement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rep. Lauren Boebert<\/a>, who had questioned Kean\u2019s whereabouts before his announcement, was among the small number of members who were not so understanding and called his long absence \u201cridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there’s this dose of depression that comes with every congressional pin that’s issued,\u201d the Colorado Republican said. \u201cLife is depressing. Life is hard. Get to work.\u201d<\/p>\n

While few Americans can afford to miss months of work for mental health treatment like Kean, depression-related work absences have become a major issue as the prevalence of the disease in the U.S. has only grown. Depressed workers are many times more likely<\/a> to miss work because of the condition but are also less likely to self-disclose<\/a> depression issues.<\/p>\n

Several Democrats and Republicans were supportive of Kean immediately after his announcement and applauded him for coming forward with the diagnosis.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s helpful to the American people and to others with depression to be able to acknowledge that this is what’s happening and it’s not a sin, he’s not a bad person, he’s not a weak person,\u201d Rep. Don Beyer<\/a> (D-Va.), a co-chair of the Congressional Mental Health Caucus, said in an interview. \u201cIt’s a brain disease, and I want him to be well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyer also said he was \u201cdisappointed\u201d that Kean \u201cfelt he couldn\u2019t disclose it,\u201d though said he does not know the fellow congressman well and did not wish to criticize him.<\/p>\n

Beyer, who has been open about his son\u2019s schizophrenia diagnosis, said mental health issues should not be a \u201csecret thing tucked away in the closet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kean, for his part, let very few fellow politicians into his confidence. The two other Republicans in the New Jersey delegation, Reps. Jeff Van Drew<\/a> and Chris Smith<\/a>, said they had not heard from Kean in months<\/a> despite calling and texting him out of concern.<\/p>\n

Despite what Van Drew described as \u201cradio silence,\u201d the two other New Jersey Republicans defended Kean\u2019s decision to not reveal his diagnosis.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just concerned for him,\u201d Van Drew said. \u201cWhen you go through something like that, you \u2026 choose how you’re going to reveal it. So he decided to do it this way, and that’s fine. It’s his decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith said he was optimistic Kean\u2019s public disclosure even now could help reduce the stigma surrounding mental health issues. Asked about how much privacy members of Congress are entitled to on personal matters, he said, \u201cThere\u2019s a balance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe thought this is probably the best way to do it, and so I respected it,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n

Rep. Derrick Van Orden<\/a> (R-Wis.), a Navy veteran who has been open about having post-traumatic stress disorder, said in an interview he was among a select few who knew months in advance about Kean\u2019s diagnosis. He defended Kean\u2019s decision to keep mum.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019ve got a medical condition, that’s up to you to disclose,\u201d he said. \u201cAnybody that’s saying they should have done this or that \u2014 really, they need to get a life.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"