House leaders to absentee members: "You've got to come"

Andrew Solender

Two men in business suits sit at a formal event. Left man with glasses and a blue striped tie; right man in a gray suit holds a program. A woman wearing a patterned headscarf sits behind them. — House Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries attend the Holocaust Memorial Museum's National Commemoration of the Days of Remembrance ceremony at the U.S. Capitol on April 14. Photo: SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images

Congressional leaders are straining to get their absentee members to return to Capitol Hill as the House's vote margins on major legislation grow ever more precarious.

Why it matters: Just on Thursday, an Iran war powers resolution failed to pass in a tie vote. Any lawmaker could have tipped the outcome — and half a dozen were absent.

"People cannot miss votes," a senior House Democrat told Axios.
The truants on that vote included Reps. Tom Kean Jr. (R-N.J.) and Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.). Both have missed weeks of votes.
The mystery of Wilson's absence was solved on Thursday — she is recovering from a major eye surgery — but questions surround Kean's mysterious disappearance.

What we're hearing: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) urged Wilson in a recent phone call to return to Washington, D.C., as quickly as possible, according to the senior House Democrat and another source familiar with the matter.

"You've got to come. The numbers are too small," the Democratic leader said, referring to Republicans' narrow House majority.
Wilson, who is 83, explained about her eye surgery and said she plans to return to D.C. next Wednesday.

Zoom in: Kean's situation is far murkier. The 57-year-old has missed two months of House votes, having said in a statement last month that he is dealing with an unspecified "personal medical issue."

Even House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) seems to be largely in the dark, telling reporters on Thursday that Kean "has a medical issue, and that's all I know about it and that's all I can say about it."
"Obviously I told him we're praying for him and we need him to get back as soon as he can," the speaker added.

The New York Times reported Thursday that Kean cancelled a scheduled appearance at a May 28 breakfast event and that his chief of staff told reporters there are "no cameras where Tom is."

The intrigue: Neither Kean nor Wilson have given indications they plan to drop their bids for reelection.

There were rumors that Wilson may retire, but she dispelled that notion on Thursday, telling state Sen. Shevrin Jones in a phone call that she plans to seek another term.
Kean is the only candidate on the Republican primary ballot in a district Democrats view as a top pickup target. His campaign sent out fundraising emails as recently as Thursday morning.

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House leaders to absentee members: "You've got to come"

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