Missing Congressman Tom Keen Explains Mysterious Four Months.

The Republican congressman, who missed dozens of votes while on medical leave from the House of Representatives, told fellow lawmakers he was in the hospital with anxiety during his 142-day absence.

“I was given a stress diagnosis,” Tom Keen of New Jersey said after returning to work on Tuesday. “It’s physical, it’s emotional and until you experience it yourself, it’s hard to fully understand how powerful this disease is.”

Keane, 57, is running for a third term in a district where Republican leaders fear he could go Democratic in November’s midterm elections.

He missed more than 140 votes in his absence, leaving many to wonder about his health.

He confided on the floor of the House that he had been hospitalized several months ago with health problems and “didn’t believe it was going to be a long-term stay.” After the examination, the doctors suggested that he stay in the hospital and “they explained to me that this is the fastest way to recover.”

“When people hear the word depression, most people think it simply means feeling sad,” he said. “But depression is more than that.”

At the beginning of this month Keene is running unopposed for the Republican nominationAnd they won.

He described it as a “personal medical matter” on social media and gave only vague answers about his previous absence.

The assistants, some of whom told US media, said they did not personally know the cause of the loss of voice, saying it was “under the supervision of a doctor”.

Republicans have demanded that Keane’s absence be clarified.

The part of New Jersey that Keane represents is considered a swing district, meaning it has a high tendency to flip between Republicans and Democrats each election cycle.

It will be a key district for Republicans to hold onto in November’s midterm elections, which will determine the balance of power in Congress. Democrats are seeking to impeach him, which would swing power their way and spell a loss for Trump.