For 12 weeks, Tom Kean hasn't shown up to work.
He hasn't explained why he's been away, or even said where he is.
But because of his job, there's no way to sack him, force him back into the office or replace him, at least until November.
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It's because Kean is a US congressman, representing a swing seat when his party holds the narrowest majority.
Since mid-March, Kean has not faced the media, appeared on camera, gone to the office or done any public events.
His staff have told the media he has a medical condition, but have not disclosed what it is.
But his public spending disclosures revealed he or someone in his office claimed travel expenses for three rideshare trips in San Francisco last month, the other side of the country from his home district.
He has also been trading stocks in his absence from the office.
When his father was asked why Kean had not been seen in weeks, he replied: "There's no cameras where Tom is."
"He has seen more than one doctor, and he's under a doctor's care," Kean Snr told NJ.com.
"All the doctors say he's gonna be fine. But it's gonna take some time."
But last week Republican officials in his state of New Jersey began receiving phone calls from Kean, offering a proof-of-life but no details as to his condition.
"I anticipate that in the next couple of weeks, I'll return to voting and to the campaign trail," he told the New Jersey Globe.
Kean is in for a difficult race no matter what.
His district in New Jersey is one of the closest in the country, with Kean eking out narrow victories in 2022 and 2024. He lost his first bid for Congress in 2020 by only a few thousand votes.
Long before his mysterious disappearance, Kean was a top target for Democrats.
His absence is odd but entirely permissible under US law.
Members of Congress don't answer to anybody but their voters, and in between elections there is no mechanism to force them to show up to work.
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Florida Democrat Frederica Wilson missed a full month of votes, though her social media accounts were reposting photos as if she was busy at work.
She revealed last week she had been recovering from eye surgery and was unable to fly "under my doctors' orders".
The 83-year-old is planning on running for re-election.
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