Tom Kean discusses return to Congress amid media accessibility controversy

Rep. Tom Kean, R-N.J., stated he is “feeling stronger than ever” during his first media interview since returning to Congress following treatment for depression. Speaking at a campaign event in Warren County alongside House Speaker Mike Johnson, Kean expressed that he is “feeling great.”

The event drew scrutiny regarding Kean’s accessibility to the press. A New York Times reporter reported that Washington Township police were called while she waited in her car in the parking lot of the Hawk Pointe Golf Club to ask a question. While the reporter was not charged, the incident sparked debate over Kean’s media engagement.

Kean defended his record on social media, claiming he conducts “the most local press engagements of any NJ member of Congress” and criticized his opponent, Rebecca Bennett, for using scripts. However, Micah Rasmussen, director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University, suggested the incident is part of a “much larger pattern” of limited unscripted interactions and restricted media access.