Rep. Tom Kean, R-N.J., lasted voted on Capitol Hill in early March. File Photo courtesy of Congress
June 30 (UPI) — Rep. Tom Kean Jr., R-N.J., said Tuesday he was hospitalized with depression, a diagnosis that kept him off Capitol Hill for nearly four months without explanation.
He made the announcement on the House floor upon his return to Washington, D.C.
“I’m grateful that I accepted help,” Kean said. “Asking for help is not a weakness. It is a strength.”
Kean was last present in Congress during a March 5 vote. He missed more than 140 votes in his time away, during which the reason for his absence was never revealed.
The congressman said he went to the hospital for testing and doctors diagnosed him with depression and encouraged him to stay for treatment. He said during his treatment he learned he had been dealing with depression for longer than he realized.
“Now, when people hear the word ‘depression,’ many people think … it means feeling sad, but depression is so much more than that,” Kean said Tuesday.
“It is physical, it is emotional and until you experience it yourself, it is difficult to fully understand how powerful this illness can be.”
Kean, who first joined the U.S. House in 2023, is up for re-election this year.
