Rep. Tom Kean Jr. Says He Is 'Stronger Than Ever' and Defends His Months of Missed Votes in a Tight New Jersey Race

One of the most closely watched House Republicans is answering questions about his attendance record days before Election Day, Fox News reports.

The interview. Rep. Tom Kean Jr., R-N.J., spoke to Fox News' Mike Emanuel on "The Fox News Rundown" podcast about his monthslong hospital stay earlier this year. He said his absence from Congress was a medical emergency. "Nobody can schedule a medical emergency," he said, adding that people were told while he was in the hospital that there was "a medical situation in the family with me."

The disclosure. Fox says Kean was away from Congress from early March and missed more than 100 votes before he publicly explained why. He returned to the House in June and said he had been diagnosed with depression. Kean said he spoke on the House floor about it "because I want to get rid of the stigma associated with any mental health condition." Asked whether the absence had hurt him with voters, he said, "I'm feeling stronger than ever," and that he had to "take that seriously" and treat his own mental health.

The race. Fox says the absence drew calls for transparency from lawmakers in both parties and became a focus for his Democratic challenger, Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot, in New Jersey's competitive 7th District.

The record. Kean also pointed to bipartisan legislation he worked on in New Jersey that sought to require insurers to cover mental health treatment on equal terms with physical health treatment. He said he is pursuing similar efforts in Washington.

Note for readers: the account of his illness and of why he was away comes from Kean in this interview and in his earlier remarks. Fox does not report new polling on how voters in the district view the absence, and Bennett's response is not in the part of the story we read.