Six trades the day he won the Republican primary. Three more on the day before he came back after missing from Congress for more than 100 days. And another trade on the day he gave a speech on the House floor revealing his absence was due to depression.
A Gothamist review of New Jersey Rep. Tom Kean Jr.’s latest periodic transaction report shows the New Jersey Congressional member made 18 stock trades in June. The report lists their values in ranges, but shows the amount of money Kean traded ranges from at least $46,000 to up to potentially $340,000.
The document shows that Kean certified the authenticity of the trades…
On Monday, Mr. Kean, a New Jersey Republican, silently refused to even acknowledge a reporter as he hustled out of the Capitol toward Independence Avenue. He did much the same on Thursday, when he was one of the last lawmakers to descend the Capitol steps after the House recessed for the week.
Asked about his return to Congress after a monthslong absence and his schedule as he runs for re-election in one of the country’s most competitive contests, Mr. Kean stared straight ahead.
If the congressman has been on the campaign trail in New Jersey, it is hard to tell…
He did not follow up a June 30 speech on the House floor with media interviews. And even some of his staunchest allies in New Jersey said they were unaware of his plans to campaign locally.
The Republican chairman in Sussex County, a region seen as crucial to Mr. Kean’s victory, says he is “waiting on dates” for a hoped-for visit from the congressman. State Senator Doug Steinhardt, the chairman of the Republican Party in Warren, a neighboring county and conservative part of Mr. Kean’s district, said the congressman was expected to attend the county fair at the end of July. But he was aware of no other scheduled campaign events.
“I hope he intends to be more visible,” said Mr. Steinhardt, who previously led the New Jersey Republican Party.
Rep. Tom Kean Jr.’s then-unexplained absence on Capitol Hill didn’t stop a host of corporate interests from flooding his campaign account with cash, according to federal financial disclosures filed Wednesday.
Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-N.J.) was overwhelmingly outraised by his Democratic opponent during the most recent fundraising period — a three-month span that heavily overlapped with Kean’s hospitalization for depression.
We are all glad that Kean was able to get the care he needed and applaud him for bringing attention to these issues. Yet impending Medicaid work reporting requirements — which he and hundreds of other members of Congress supported — will make it much harder for millions of other Americans to do the same.
