Speaker Mike Johnson said he needs Rep. Tom Kean Jr. to get back as soon as he can as scrutiny grows over his unexplained two-month absence from the House of Representatives and his reelection prospects in a key swing district. Kean has not cast a vote since March 5 because of what his campaign has described only as a personal medical issue. The 57-year-old congressman said in an April 27 statement that he expected to return to a full schedule and be at 100 percent in the near future, but remained absent when lawmakers returned to Washington this week.
I joined Deloitte after graduate school in 1999 as a senior consultant. I'd been recruited out of the Harvard Kennedy School and thought I'd spend a year or two in the private sector before entering politics or policy in DC. Twenty-one years later, I was still there and had become a partner. I was at the height of my career - then my health caused me to come crashing down.
Michael Payne stated, "I care deeply about representing our community and being present for important debates and decisions in Westminster. Being unable to participate fully in this work is not something I take lightly, and it's difficult to be away at a time when so much is happening nationally."