Congressman Discloses Depression on House Floor After Four-Month Absence

New Jersey Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr. returned to Congress on June 30 and disclosed depression in a House floor speech—a deliberate public disclosure that breaks from congressional norms of private medical statements. His four-month absence had gone unexplained until his return. The move signals how mental health disclosure is shifting in legislative chambers, though its political durability in a competitive district remains uncertain.