Speaker Johnson Addresses ‘Missing’ GOP Lawmaker Who Hasn’t Cast a Vote Since Early March
House Speaker Johnson on Friday provided an update to a GOP lawmaker who hasn’t voted in more than a month.
Rep. Thomas Kean (R-NJ) has missed more than 50 roll call votes.
Speaker Johnson told ABC News that Rep. Kean is dealing with personal health matters.
“I was happy to speak to Tom Kean, Jr. this afternoon by phone. He is attending to a personal health matter and expects to be back to 100% very soon,” Johnson told ABC News.
“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,” Johnson said.
ABC News reported:
Republican Rep. Thomas Kean Jr. of New Jersey has missed votes in the House for more than a month without personally providing his constituents with an explanation.
Kean, 57, cast his last vote on March 5. Since then, he’s missed 50 roll call votes.
As House Speaker Mike Johnson navigates a narrow majority, a Republican member’s prolonged absence could impact the ability to move must-pass legislation and President Donald Trump’s agenda.
Johnson is currently trying to pass Department of Homeland Security funding, a long-term extension of FISA and the farm bill — all relying on Republican votes. Johnson can only afford to lose two votes on any party-line bill, and that’s if all members are present and voting.
Speaker Johnson said in a statement provided to ABC News that he spoke to Kean by phone on Thursday, and that he is dealing with an unspecified “personal health matter.”
In 2024, a Republican Congresswoman who had been “missing” for six months was finally found in a dementia care home.
Rep. Kay Granger, 81, had served as the representative for Texas’s 12th Congressional District since 1997.
However, she suddenly disappeared from the public eye in July 2024, when she cast her final vote against an amendment to reduce the salary of Deputy Assistant Administrator for Pesticide Programs to $1.
A curious reporter at the local Dallas Express newspaper did some digging on Granger’s whereabouts and has finally been able to give her constituents some answers.
The reporter learned that Granger was residing at an assisted living facility specializing in memory care.
Granger retired from Congress in January 2025.
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