Rep. Tom Kean Jr. returns to work after lengthy absence, points to depression diagnosis

On Capitol Hill, occasional absences are common. Members sometimes have personal emergencies or travel hindrances, for example, that temporarily keep them from their duties, while others sometimes miss floor votes to tend to local concerns in their home districts.

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But prolonged absences are more unusual, and they invariably generate different kinds of questions when they happen.

Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr. of New Jersey stepped away from his duties in early March, and neither the congressman nor his office offered any kind of explanation for his absence, except to say that he was dealing with a “personal health matter.”

Nearly four months later, he returned to work and offered an explanation.

“Several months ago, due to health concerns, I entered the hospital for some testing,” Kean said. “I did not believe that this would result in a long-term stay. I was given the diagnosis of depression. Now, when people hear the word ‘depression,’ many people think, simply feel, it means feeling sad. But depression is so much more than that. It is physical; it is emotional; and until you experience it yourself, it is difficult to fully understand how powerful this illness can be.”

As part of his remarks, the congressman said he was advised to stay in the hospital for treatment, and he followed those recommendations.

For those unfamiliar with the congressman, Kean has long been seen as a key figure in New Jersey Republican politics, in part because of his former leadership role in the state legislature and in part because of the familiarity of his surname: Kean’s grandfather was a longtime GOP congressman from the Garden State, and his father was a popular two-term governor.

But since arriving in Congress more than three years ago, he’s maintained a relatively low profile and only recently became known to national audiences, largely because of his extended time away from Capitol Hill.