Kean Reveals Depression kept him from Congress for Months

[NJCher]

New Jersey congressman says he spent months hospitalized for treatment after diagnosis, ending speculation over his prolonged absence from Capitol Hill

By David Wildstein, June 30 2026 11:11 am

snip

Rep. Thomas Kean Jr. disclosed Tuesday that he has spent the last several months hospitalized for depression, revealing for the first time why the two-term New Jersey Republican has not cast a vote in Congress since March.

Speaking on the House floor, Kean said he entered the hospital for testing several months ago and never expected it would become “a long-term stay,” an absence that caused him to miss 140 roll call votes.

“I was given the diagnosis of depression. When people hear the word depression, many think it simply means feeling sad. But depression is so much more than that. It is physical. It is emotional,” Kean said. “Until you experience it yourself, it is difficult to fully understand how powerful this illness can be.”

Kean, 57, said his doctors recommended that he remain in the hospital to treat his depression.

snip

Link to NJ Globe

[Shellback Squid]

1. fuck him and his party

[Tree Lady]

2. Must be bad if he has been hospitalized

For months, wonder if he is suicidal?

[spooky3]

8. Or maybe he has another condition as well. Nt

[RandySF]

3. Something doesn't add up.

I’ve known more depression sufferers that I can count but nobody dropped out of sight like he did.

[MustLoveBeagles]

7. Right

Why not just say so from the beginning? Can congresspeople take a leave of absence?

[muriel_volestrangler]

10. To stop any Republican primarying him?

Now he gets the Republican vote, whether or not they would have believed his "too serious to attend Congress now, but it'll be fine in 2027" claim. I don't know enough about treatment of serious depression, but I am surprised if they can really say "it'll be fine from now on" if it was that serious before.

[RandySF]

11. Yes they can.

[Mossfern]

14. I have a child that suffers from depression

and yes, it is perfectly understandable. Severe depression is paralyzing.
Thank goodness there's medication to treat it.

There's only one person I would wish it on ........

[mwmisses4289]

4. But why hide it?

Many other well known folks have been honest about their diagnoses from the beginning, hoping that by sharing their struggle it would help others.

Oh, wait...he's a repuke. Helping others is anathema to them.

[dalton99a]

5. His mistress dumped him

[werdna]

6. Been there, clinically diagnosed and treated -

- haven't done that, hospitalization for depression - let alone prolonged hospitalization. Besides, he's a Republican; spineless and soulless, what would he have to be depressed about? Snark, snark!

[RockRaven]

9. Nobody "deserves" their spot in Congress as much as the people deserve to have their district represented.

Even with how partisan votes are in Congress, every district has unique interests which are only considered properly if the district has representation giving voice or weight to those interests.

If you cannot show up and represent your district for anything in the ballpark of the amount of time it takes to hold a special election to replace you (in my state that is 3-4 months, but rules vary and in some places there are partisan differences) then your duty is to resign. If your absence is indefinite then you should err on the side of making the non-representation finite, and resign.

I don't care why the absence is happening: mental health, health, family, financial, natural disaster, whatever. I don't care what party you belong to. You don't own that seat. You aren't entitled to that seat. It does not belong to you. Show up, or resign.

[multigraincracker]

12. Suffered a chemical imbalance of the brain.

Good way to duck reality.

[AStern]

13. Weren't Michael Dukakis and Thomas Eagleton mocked relentlessly for seeking therapy?

Last edited Tue Jun 30, 2026, 02:18 PM - Edit history (1)

Glad to see that once Republicans were personally effected - the stigma went away.

[NJCher]

19. If memory serves

(always dicey with me), I think Eagleton had to withdraw for that. Dukakis--might have been that and a combination of some remark. Anybody else remember?

[MineralMan]

15. Who is running against him as a Democrat in that District? (Updated)

Maybe another flipped seat?

The Democratic candidate is Rebecca Bennet. She won the primary in the 7th Congressional District. Learn more at:

https://ballotpedia.org/Rebecca_Bennett_(New_Jersey)

[Intractable]

16. He was trading stocks during his absence from Congress.

https://www.insidernj.com/kean-trades-stocks-dems-scramble-for-votes/

Various published reports reveal that Rep. Thomas H. Kean Jr last week filed a Periodic Transition Report disclosing five stock trades he made in April. The value of the trades was between $1,001 and $15,000, according to the report, which the congressman digitally signed.

Kean has been absent from Congress since March 5.

[Boo1]

17. Im not going to blast him

For seeking treatment and publicly talking about mental health. Too often treated as taboo.

Want to beat him, but this isn't the issue to attack on.

[PCIntern]

18. Then you don't recall what they did to

Tom Eagleton and to Ed Muskie, not because he had depression, but that he wept when they were submarining his candidacy with dirty tricks aimed at his wife if I recall correctly.

But we can’t stoop so low? The hell with them, fuck’em.

[Indykatie]

20. I call BS on Kean's explanation for his 4 Month Absence.

A four month hospitalization after an initial depression diagnosis didn't happen. Hospitalization is not the first line treatment for Depression. No commercial plan would even cover a hospitalization in an acute care setting this long for depression. Also, what type of tests are designed specifically to diagnose depression?