It Doesn’t Sound Like Missing GOP Rep. Is Coming Back to Work Soon

this afternoon by phone,” Johnson said, referring to their Thursday call. “He is attending to a personal health matter and expects to be back to 100 percent very soon. Tom is one of the most dedicated and hardest-working members of Congress, and I am grateful for all he does and will continue to do to serve New Jerseyans and our country.”That lone response was the culmination of a small pressure campaign led by the other two House Republicans from New Jersey: Representatives Chris Smith and Jeff Van Drew. Both were unable to make contact with Kean. Van Drew told Politico that it had been “radio silence” from their conservative colleague.New York Republicans were similarly stumped in their efforts to call and text Kean, while other Republicans—such as Representative Don Bacon—were completely unaware of their ally’s absence until they failed to find him on the House floor earlier this week.“I was looking for him,” Bacon said Wednesday. “I didn’t know it was that long.”Kean’s staff told Politico on Wednesday that the lawmaker was struggling with health issues, but did not provide additional details. Harrison Neely, a strategist for the lawmaker, told the publication that Kean will be “back on a regular full schedule very soon.”Kean was elected to represent New Jersey’s 7th congressional district in 2022, and is months away from being thrust into a contentious midterm reelection cycle. He is currently unchallenged in the Garden State’s Republican primary, scheduled for June 2, but is likely to face tremendous opposition from Democrats come November. Over the last several months, New Jersey’s 7th congressional district has shifted from a “lean Republican” advantage to a toss-up, according to an analysis by the Cook Political Report.