‘Where Is He?’ Lauren Boebert Shreds MIA Congressman Tom Kean for ‘Embarrassing’ Months-Long Absence
Article excerpt
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) lambasted her fellow House Republican, Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ), for his mysterious months-long absence as the GOP clings to a razor-thin majority. The post ‘Where Is He?’ Lauren Boebert Shreds MIA Congressman Tom Kean for ‘Embarrassing’ Months-Long Absence first appeared on Mediaite.
Screenshot via TMZ.
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) had some harsh words Wednesday for her fellow House Republican, Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ), lambasting him for his mysterious months-long absence as the GOP clings to a razor-thin majority.
Kean’s father Tom Kean was governor of New Jersey from 1982 to 1990, and now the 57-year-old son represents the state’s 7th congressional district after years in the state legislature.
The younger Kean found himself in headlines after he stopped showing up for work, last showing up to vote in early March. Kean issued a vague statement saying he was dealing with an unnamed “medical issue.”
The New Jersey Globe reported a phone interview with Kean on May 21 in which he insisted he was running for re-election, would return to work and campaigning “in the next couple of weeks,” and that “my doctors are confident that I’m on the road to a full recovery.” On Monday, President Donald Trump included Kean in a spate of endorsements he posted on his Truth Social account.
But as Kean’s absence has dragged on without any announced end date, it’s sparked growing stress among his GOP colleagues, as Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) can scarcely spare a single vote to get bills passed as it is. NJ-7 is also viewed as a swing seat, and Republicans worry Kean’s MIA status is creating easy campaign fodder for Democrats.
Boebert pulled no punches on Wednesday when a TMZ reporter asked her about Kean’s ongoing absenteeism and if she wanted him back in Congress.
Rep. Lauren Boebert is outraged that fellow Republican representative, Tom Kean Jr., hasn't voted in the Capitol and hasn't been seen since March due to "health issues."
"We're supposed to be the party campaigning against working in the basement." pic.twitter.com/1bEDfmW6Xp
, TMZ (@TMZ) June 3, 2026
“Where is he?” an incensed Boebert demanded to know. “No, seriously. It’s embarrassing. We’re supposed to be the party that is against campaigning from the basement.”
“I don’t know where this guy is,” she continued. “I haven’t heard from him. I’ve heard people cover for him.”
The Colorado congresswoman was dismissive of his utility in maintaining the GOP House majority. “I mean, sure, we need a majority, but under these circumstances?”
Boebert pointed out that she had “worked my ass off to get re-elected and serve the people of my district,” but “this guy hasn’t been here since, what? March?”
When TMZ asked if her GOP colleagues were saying the same things, she replied, “I don’t know if everyone knows who he is. I don’t know if I have ever seen him in person. I don’t know this guy.”
When Boebert pointed out, critically, that Kean had just won his primary unchallenged, the TMZ reporter asked her what about November’s general election.
“Listen, that is up to the voters back home, but I would recommend [to Kean] showing up, and saying something,” she replied, calling it “embarrassing” that House Republicans did not know what exactly was going on, finding Kean’s undefined “health issues” to be an insufficient explanation.
“I’m not saying that he’s dead,” she added, “but, I mean, come on, absent. Like where is the representation? It’s taxation without representation, is it not?”
Regarding Kean’s claimed health issues, she demanded to know, with a rising voice, “What are they? Where is he? Is he in the hospital? Where is he?! I don’t know!”
Boebert said that “no one calls out Democrats when they don’t show up,” referring to the proxy votes that then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) allowed during the Covid pandemic, and added, “and really, nobody’s been calling out Tom Kean enough.”
“Again, I wish the guy well, I hope he gets better with whatever ails him,” she added.
“What would you, if you could talk to him right now, what would you say to him?” asked TMZ.
“Hi. It’s great to meet you,” she replied with a laugh. “I’m Lauren Boebert.”
“Like, you’ve never seen this guy!” said the reporter.
“I don’t know, I probably have,” Boebert admitted.
The post ‘Where Is He?’ Lauren Boebert Shreds MIA Congressman Tom Kean for ‘Embarrassing’ Months-Long Absence first appeared on Mediaite.