Rep. Tom Kean Jr. says depression treatment led to months-long absence
Tom Kean Jr. was healthy enough to authorize stock transactions up to $190,000 during his nearly 4-month absence from the House. There’s more to this story than he’s saying.
John Collins170Guess he needed a vacation from all their vacations.
Señor Sabelotodo120And his first order of businesses to look for sympathy. His second order of business is going to be to attend a fundraiser. And his final order of business is to go back to screwing over his constituents and the Constitution.
Dolly50Im glad he could afford health insurance unlike many of his constituents
Tali50It is extremely rare to be hospitalized for 4 months for depression only. I suspect there is more.
Sunset Cove22The whole fucking country is depressed but we aren't in a hospital.
Grumpy Grandpa10So his healthcare paid for by us was wonderful
PPP Grifter 🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️3“I’m so depressed that I was insider trading during my paid vacation”
Joyce Park3Also: apparently he was too sick to do his job, but he was NOT too sick to enrich himself: bsky.app/profile/jonc...
khwalz2Rebecca Bennett can really make hay outta this!
aprivateguy.bsky.social2If a public-company CEO disappeared for nearly 4 months, the board would have to act. They would name an interim leader, disclose leadership vacuum, & answer to investors. Health details can stay private. Who’s running company cannot. I thought Republicans wanted government to run like a business.
Simpler Times Rememberer2Not getting that bread would have made him more depressed
Too sick to vote. Healthy enough to trade stocks and rack up travel bills 3,000 miles away. Pick a lie. Tom Kean Jr. thinks voters won’t notice. They will. 🤬 NJ-07 deserves better! #USDemocracy #Pinks newrepublic.com/post/212544/...
Gayle Dourn Plantz11Boo hoo. Hundreds of millions of Americans are depressed also, directly caused by Trump and enabling Republicans who don't have the balls to honor their oath of office.
Cat Alyst 🇨🇦 (they/them)6I wonder how MAGA would react if a Democrat cited depression for congressional absence.
Elizabeth Pennysworth5It’s beyond outrageous & yet nothing will be done about it. We paid him & paid his hospital bills. If i don’t show up for work for 4 months, i don’t get paid, my insurance lapses, & then I lose my job 😡
Peggy Stuart5Depression is a disability. I thought MAGA was against helping people with disabilities. Toss him out on his ear! At least be consistent.
🏴☠️Øracle 671⚓️🌻2This is the most bullshit story and excuse that I've heard out of the current congress. If Kean was so depressed to be institutionalized for FOUR FUCKING MONTHS with no contact or no votes, then he should not be sitting in congress. Easy.
OneNonJohn🗽🇺🇲2He's depressed?!!! Wow, another self serving idiot who had no intent to uphold his oath. Welcome to our world, pal... Where depression and anxiety reign supreme in Trumplandia, right after trying to find money to pay for anything, therefore making the depression and anxiety even worse. Grow a set!
Thaddeus Howze2“I needed to take some time for myself, with the duties of Congress being so overwhelming. Four months has given me a new lease on life. “I did some stock trading during my convalescence seeing as my Congressional salary just doesn't pay me enough. Thank god for Congressional healthcare.”
KT2Lying is hard. They are all acting like the Liar in Chief.
Rep. Tom Kean took leave to get help for depression. But as a member of Congress, due to voting for Medicaid work reqs, and as part of the New Jersey state leg, he hasn't made it easy for others to do the same. New w/ @hurwitz.bsky.social at @motherjones.com. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Julia Métraux23“All individuals with mental health conditions deserve that opportunity to get care and to recover on their own terms,” Matthew Camarda of NAMI New Jersey said.
jnycz.bsky.social4Not depressed enough for insider trading. www.forbes.com/sites/sarado...
Grumpy Zeus2Kean's a motherfucking Republican traitor scumbag douchenozzle sniffer who enjoys watching others suffer from medical conditions for which he gets treatment. Republicans enjoy suffering of others and if you don't understand that, you don't understand your Republican neighbors.
The Cassandra Files (I told you so)1Congress will always demand for themselves (at OUR expense) what they fight against for the rest of us.
Tom Kean thinks missing 100 days of PAID WORK is fine because he has "depression". Bitch, I've been depressed for fucking decades but I still show my ass up to work??? If I just fucked off for even a week and no one knew where I was, I'd be fired and never rehired.
Arctic Antifa6I would love to be sympathetic to absences for depression. But the healthcare environment that he and his fellow “conservatives” have created means that most of us can’t just not work, no matter how bad the depression. So, fuck him.
ABOLISH ICE NOW!5Depression is real but his excuse isn't. This is bullshit and if it was a democrat you can bet it would be a daily screed.
eddie0028.bsky.social2Maybe instead of a 5 month hospital stay the doctor should have said: Stop Screwing Your Country By Supporting Everything 86taco47 Tells You Too
Jeff B2Trump, next to Johnson at a presser: “We didn’t see him for awhile, he had some issues” Johnson: “It was a private medical matter, let’s leave it at that.” Trump: “He was sad, ok? Said he wanted to stick his head in a gas oven. I told him Tom you can’t do that, we need your vote. He said sir
Call Congress Daily1Clinical depression is not simply "depression." Empathy and understanding counts in a democracy.
lisamims.bsky.social10I know more than one attorney who is not eligible for rehire because they got food poisoning during a trial. I eat an all canned food diet the few days before and during any longer trial.
Earn2The company I worked for at the time had “unlimited pto” right until I needed 3 weeks off to go to grippy sock day camp. I got two weeks paid but the last unpaid and then the hr lady screwed up my short term disability claim and I just had to deal with missing a week’s pay.
There are few things as bad as crippling depression. I hope that Tom Kean uses this experience to advocate for wider access to the quality care he has received. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/30/u...
Benjamin McKean10Unfortunately, I wouldn’t bet on it
linareed72.bsky.social5I have empathy for him, but you can’t use depression as a crutch, or it will stigmatize everyone who struggles with it. I’m 73 and have battled it since my early 20s. If depression is preventing him from doing his job to serve the people, then he should consider finding a less stressful position.👍
Lady Sara Richard4But everyone else dealing with extreme depression has to show up for work. 🙄
Jack Sprat2That will be the day.
Max’s Dad1"In 2024, Kean, one of 17 House Republicans representing a district that voted for Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election, endorsed Donald Trump." yeah fuck him.
A Wild Lib Appeared3It needs to be said that Tom Kean Jr. has failed to cosponsor any of the legislation for paid sick leave for American workers. And last year, he voted to gut funding for Medicaid, the ACA, and lifelines to mental healthcare for millions of Americans. #NJ07 should vote him out. #BlueWave2026
ECP2I honestly hope Kean experiences no solace or peace or happiness for the rest of his miserable, hateful, selfish existence. I have depression. It sucks. I like that this man suffers from it, too. It's a small happiness to me, because Kean is a shitty person and he deserves misery.
Look I’m happy for anyone who gets the mental health treatment they need, but for Tom Kean Jr. to disappear for treatment of depression A) after having voted to cut mental health services and B) without telling his #NJ07 constituents for 4 months? Still outrageous. apnews.com/article/tom-...
Dreamboat Annie2Nice for him that he can get clinically diagnosed with depression and just drop out of sight without explanation for months on end. Without any repercussions whatsoever. Probably a lot of other people who would like to be able to do that.
If we don’t create our dreams, who will?1He needs to resign immediately!!!
Tom Kean, the New Jersey congressman who disappeared from public view for months, returns to Congress and says he was hospitalized for depression. "Until you experience it yourself" it is hard to understand "how powerful this illness could be." @anniekarni.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/06/30/u...
thepagemancer.bsky.social7I'm sure he will fully support any legislation that will improve mental health care for all Americans. Right? Right?
Āris W. Stalis4How many can take so much time from work, keep getting paid, and have insurance that covers it? Please. Enlighten me.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯3You don’t have to experience an illness to show empathy for those who suffer. Now tell us how this experience will change you? What will you do to help others and your constituents?!
John Ferrara1I empathize deeply with Representative Kean and wish him well in his recovery. It would be a great outcome if more people gain an understanding of depression, if those affected seek out help, and the rest of us learn to give them grace.
Kelly McMahon1But he was well enough to trade stocks.🤷♀️
Evergreen1Yes, it’s awful. I know someone who suffered from it and it’s not easy on anyone.
Of course, empathy to Kean. But many questions remain: What first took him to the hospital? Where was he? Four months for depression; why so long? How is he now? Tom Kean Jr. reveals mystery illness that kept him from Congress for 4 months www.nj.com/politics/202...
demoskratia.bsky.social21Imagine being blessed enough to be able to take months long absence from his job and still be able to afford his bills
Rhonda 🌊4Tom Kean’s staff used fake speeches to hide his absence so he could sail through an uncontested primary. His real test is this November in a tight swing district. Voters will definitely remember the $190K stock trades and the PR cover-up once they have a real choice.
Lauri3My guess is Kean was discharged from the hospital and then went into a residential or outpatient program for a period of time. Highly unlikely he went back to work straight from the hospital.
Patrick2Why was he still trading stocks while in the hospital?
Tony Hill 1What are the odds, if he would win in November that he would disappear again? The story doesn't add up. That he went to a hospital and stayed there. With his mentioned diagnosis he would have needed a specialized clinic. 4 months there seems unusual, usually 6 to 8 weeks in-patient, then outpatient.
