Topline
Two House members have been absent for weeks, missing dozens of votes as both face tough re-election contests, including one that could jeopardize Republicans’ slim majority in the House.
U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson speaks on behalf of keeping Temporary Protected Status in place for Haitians at an American Business Immigration Coalition press conference on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (Carl Juste/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
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Key Facts
Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., has not voted in the House since April 17, missing 43 consecutive votes as of Wednesday, according to reporter Jamie Dupree.
She has remained active on social media and shared images on Tuesday of a service academy event she attended—and already posted—in October.
Wilson has not publicly explained her absence, and neither her office nor House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ office responded to Forbes’ questions about where she has been.
Rep. Thomas Kean Jr., R-N.J., who had a near-perfect voting record until he cast his last vote on March 5, has missed 68 votes since.
Kean’s chief of staff, Dan Scharfenberger, referred Forbes to a previous statement he provided to the New Jersey Globe: Kean is “attending to a personal health matter” and will be returning to a regular full schedule soon,” Scharfenberger said, adding, “the Congressman’s team continues to serve the people of New Jersey uninterrupted.”
Both are running for re-election this year and could lose their seats—Kean, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, is uncontested in the June primary, but his district is widely considered a toss-up, and while Wilson’s leans solidly blue, she faces small business owner Christine Sanon-Jules Olivo in the August primary.
Crucial Quote
Kean, in a statement to the New Jersey Globe last month, thanked his “constituents and colleagues for their patience” as he addresses a “personal medical issue,” adding, “my doctors continue to assure me that my recovery will be complete and that I will be back to the job I love very soon. I expect to return to a full schedule and be at 100 percent.”
Tangent
Kean’s campaign spokesperson Harrison Neely told The New York Times last month he was “dealing with a personal medical issue” but is “going to be totally fine.” He declined to provide additional details to The Times about Kean’s health or when he would be back to work. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., also defended Kean in a statement to the paper and said he “expects to be back to 100 percent very soon.”
Key Background
Kean, 57, was elected to the House in 2022, flipping the seat red. He won re-election in 2024 by six points, but there are warning signs for Republicans in the district. Democrat Gov. Mikie Sherrill beat Republican Jack Ciattarelli by two points in the district in November. Kean’s seat is one of several Democrats are hoping to flip to topple Republicans’ slim majority in the House. Wilson, 83, was elected in 2010 and ran uncontested in her most recent primary in 2024.
Further Reading
Democratic Lawmaker, 83, Has Been Missing for a Month (The New Republic)
Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr.’s two-month absence continues as House returns (NBC)
Concern Grows Over Republican Congressman’s Mysterious Absence (New York Times)