Missing Congressman Tom Kean, Jr., Is Back. Sort Of.

Rep. Tom Kean, R-N.J.,leaves a meeting of the House Republican Conference in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call/Getty Images

The whereabouts of Representative Tom Kean, Jr. remain a mystery; the New Jersey Republican has remained absent from Capitol Hill for months as he deals with an undisclosed health issue. But in recent days, Kean has shown signs of life, with the congressman making calls to Republican officials and colleagues and even signing off on some financial transactions.

NOTUS reports that Kean electronically signed a congressional stock transaction form on Friday, certifying that he made five trades in April. Notably, the bulk of these newly-disclosed transactions occurred weeks before Kean’s first public statement on his absence. Last month, NOTUS reported on several stock trades made by Kean, with the congressman buying and selling shares of Amcor, Johnson & Johnson and PepsiCo among other companies not long after his last recorded vote in Congress on March 5.

News of Kean’s active trading comes as the congressman has begun outreach to the media and key allies while still remaining out of sight. In an interview with the New Jersey Globe published last Thursday, Kean said that he still intends to run for reelection and will provide details about the condition that has kept him away from Congress following his return in the near future. The congressman said that his medical team has told him that he is “on the road to a full recovery.”

“I anticipate that in the next couple of weeks, I’ll return to voting and to the campaign trail,” Kean said in a call with the outlet.

State Republican officials have said they’ve spoken to Kean over the phone last week, including the leaders of the Sussex County and Union County local parties, according to a New York Times report. The congressman notably did not disclose any new information about his medical issue in those calls. Representative Richard Hudson, who chairs the National Republican Congressional Committee, told Politico Thursday that he had also spoken to Kean who expects to return to House votes in June.

Kean, the son of former New Jersey Governor Thomas Kean, defeated Democratic incumbent Tom Malinowski and took office in 2023 after nearly two decades serving in the state Senate. He is currently running unopposed for reelection in the Republican primary scheduled for June 2. The Cook Political Report had the 7th Congressional District race listed as a “toss-up” even prior to Kean’s absence, suggesting difficult political waters ahead for the congressman.