In a glowing endorsement, President Donald Trump on Monday endorsed Republican New Jersey Rep. Tom Kean Jr., who is nowhere to be seen and has missed over 100 floor votes since March.
Kean represents New Jersey’s 7th congressional district, rated by the Cook Political Report as a toss-up ahead of the 2026 Midterm elections. He has not participated in a House roll call vote since March 5, and missed 20% of all votes cast between January and March. (RELATED: New Jersey Republican Disappears For Month — And No One Knows Where He Is)
Trump, however, said Kean has been “working tirelessly.”
“A Tremendous Advocate of our America First Agenda, Tom is working tirelessly to Keep our Border SECURE, Stop Migrant Crime, Grow our Economy, Cut Taxes and Regulations, Champion Small Business, Unleash American Energy DOMINANCE, Support our Brave Military and Veterans, and Protect our always under siege Second Amendment,” the president wrote in a Truth Social post.
New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District could end up playing a decisive role in the balance of power in Washington. Kean is running unopposed in Tuesday’s primary, while several Democrats will contest their party’s nomination.
While his absence has been attributed to an undisclosed illness, the Republican recently told the New Jersey Globe in his first interview in months that he anticipates returning to Capitol Hill for upcoming votes. Kean further noted that he expects to make a complete recovery and plans to provide additional details regarding his health in the future.
Members of U.S. Congress (L-R) congressman Nathaniel Moran, congressman Thomas Kean Jr., congresswoman Madeleine Dean and congressman Bill Keating take part in briefing in Kyiv, on April 22, 2024. (Photo by Florent VERGNES / AFP) (Photo by FLORENT VERGNES/AFP via Getty Images)
Amid his disappearance, records show that Kean has traded stocks and appeared to have approved his staff’s travel schedule.
In the 2020 election, Kean lost to Democrat Tom Malinowski by a razor-thin margin of about 5,000 votes. Kean defeated Malinowski by just under 10,000 votes in 2022, and then secured his third term in 2024 with a wider margin of over 23,000 votes against Democrat Susan Altman.
Harrison Neely, Kean’s consultant, said in a statement that Kean has been suffering an unspecified medical emergency. He also promised that Kean would return to his normal schedule “very soon” and that he would be more transparent about the issue going forward.
“This was an emergency, you don’t get to plan these,” Neely said. “There’s no good timing for this.”
The Daily Caller reached out to the White House, asking if Trump knows Kean’s whereabouts.