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President Xi in Paris, Met Gala in New York and a rate decision in London

Published

2 years ago

May 5, 2024

President Xi in Paris, Met Gala in New York and a rate decision in London

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Hello and welcome to the working week.

Get out your glad rags because it’s time for the rich and powerful to show off in front of the cameras. Yes, New York is hosting the annual Met Gala and the theme is Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion. Will Elon Musk turn up again looking like an awkward teenager in his white tie and tails? For more details, read the excellent Fashion Matters newsletter. FT subscribers can sign up here.

China’s President Xi Jinping may well be hoping that a bit of French fashion chic will rub off on him as he arrives in Paris for the first of several European state visits this week. Monday will be the key meeting with both French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen. Xi will then travel to Serbia and Hungary.

This week’s newsworthy rate setters are the Bank of England and, to a lesser extent, the Reserve Bank of Australia. Neither is expected to move rates, but watch out for signals that cuts are coming soon. UK watchers will be looking out for the first stab at first-quarter GDP numbers on Friday, expected to confirm the general perception of an economy at best only able to produce sluggish growth. Elsewhere, China looks to trade and Germany to factory orders.

It’s a delayed start to the week for the financial markets in London, Tokyo and Seoul due to the May Day and Children’s Day public holidays, but still a fairly busy week for corporate news. Media is a strong theme for this week’s results, with Disney, Fox, Warner Bros Discovery and (big for the UK) ITV all reporting. Also, on Tuesday, BP reports first-quarter numbers, with analysts expecting strong growth in gas trading but weaker fuel margins. Will there be any more changes to the senior management team in the wake of the Bernard Looney scandal?

One more thing . . .

This is a bumper week for British anniversaries. Monday not only marks a year since King Charles III was crowned at Westminster Abbey (and he now has a pretty scroll to prove it), but is the 30th anniversary of the Channel Tunnel’s formal opening and the 70th of Roger Bannister breaking the four-minute mile.

Before the week is out, it will also be another significant anniversary (at least to me): my birth. This will be celebrated by my finally getting to see Nye at London’s National Theatre (as endorsed by my employer) with supper at the (equally eagerly anticipated) theatre restaurant Lasdun. If you don’t believe me on that last point, read this persuasive review from the world’s most eloquent food critic (IMHO) Tim Hayward.

How do you intend to spend the week ahead, and what are your priorities? Email me at jonathan.moules@ft.com or, if you are reading this from your inbox, hit reply.

Key economic and company reports

Here is a more complete list of what to expect in terms of company reports and economic data this week.

Monday

China, EU, France, Germany, India: Caixin/HCOB/HSBC April services purchasing managers’ survey (PMI) data
Japan/South Korea: Children’s Day. Financial markets closed
UK/Ireland: May Day bank holiday. Financial markets closed
Results: BioNTech Q1, Tyson Foods Q2, Westpac HY

Tuesday

Apple hosts a product launch event called Let Loose with the usual secrecy around the device being unveiled, though many expect a new iPad tablet
Australia: Reserve Bank of Australia monetary policy decision
Germany: March industrial orders and foreign trade figures
Japan: April services PMI data
UK: BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor and Halifax House Price index
Results: Adecco Q1, ANZ HY, Bouygues Q1, BP Q1, Deutsche Post Q1, Electronic Arts Q4, Geberit Q1, Heidelberg Materials Q1, IAC Q1, Infineon Technologies Q2, IWG Q1, Kenvue Q1, Lyft Q1, Nintendo FY, Reddit Q1, Ricoh FY, Saudi Aramco Q1, UBS Q1, UniCredit Q1, Walt Disney Co Q2

Wednesday

US Federal Reserve’s Exploring Careers in Economics event in Washington. Speakers include Fed board vice-chair Philip Jefferson
Brazil: Banco Central do Brasil Monetary Policy Committee (Copom) rate-setting decision announced
Germany: March industrial production
Results: Ahold Delhaize Q1, Airbnb Q1, Alliance Pharma FY, Alstom FY, Anheuser-Busch InBev Q1, Bertelsmann Q1, Boohoo FY, BMW Q1, Continental Q1, Fox Corp Q3, Henkel Q1, Itochu FY, Match Q1, OSB Q1 trading update, Puma Q1, Renishaw trading update, Skanska Q1, Toyota FY, Tripadvisor Q1, Uber Q1, Wetherspoon trading update

Thursday

China: April trade balance figures
Russia: Victory Day. Financial markets closed
UK: Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee rate-setting decision. Later, the bank will host a virtual Q&A with its chief economist Huw Pill on its latest Monetary Policy Report. Register here. Also, Rics Residential Market Survey and REC-KPMG Jobs Report
Results: 3i FY, Asahi Kasei FY, Balfour Beatty AGM trading update, Enel Q1, Ferrovial Q1, ITV Q1 trading update, Nikon FY, Nippon Steel FY, Nissan FY, Panasonic FY, Telefónica Q1, Warner Bros Discovery Q1, Wood Q1 trading update and AGM

Friday

Indonesia: Ascension of Jesus Christ holiday. Financial markets closed
Eurozone: European Central Bank publishes its last monetary policy meeting minutes
Japan: March trade balance figures
UK: preliminary Q1 GDP estimate
US: University of Michigan May consumer sentiment survey
Results: CRH Q1, Honda FY, KDDI FY, IAG Q1, Iveco Q1, Mazda FY, NTT FY, Tata Motors FY

World events

Finally, here is a rundown of other events and milestones this week.

Monday

Chad: presidential election first round, with a run-off vote on June 22 if required, the result of constitutional changes approved in a referendum last year
France: Chinese President Xi Jinping travels to Paris where he will meet French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen for a state visit
Israel: Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day aka Yom HaShoah.
Panama: winner in the presidential election expected to be announced, after one of the most unusual campaigns since democracy was restored after a US invasion in 1989
UK: deadline for candidates to register in the Scottish National party’s leadership contest following the chaotic departure of Humza Yousaf
US: 108th annual Pulitzer Prize winners and nominated finalists announced online for prizes in journalism, drama, letters and music. Separately, the Costume Institute Benefit, aka the Met Gala, is held in New York. Here are what attendees wore last year to the fashion industry’s big night out

Tuesday

Wednesday

North Macedonia: parliamentary elections and presidential election run-off
UK: Prince Harry attends the Invictus Games 10th anniversary service at St Paul’s Cathedral in London

Thursday

EU: Europe Day, marking the 1960 declaration issued by Robert Schuman proposing a European continent united in solidarity
Russia: military parade in Red Square, Moscow, to mark the second world war victory day
UK: City of London Corporation’s Easter Banquet for the Diplomatic Corps, with a speech by foreign secretary Lord David Cameron

Friday

Iran: parliamentary election run-off
UK: Christopher Berry and Christopher Cash appear in court in London accused of spying for China

Saturday

Sweden: Eurovision Song Contest, hosted by last year’s winning nation
US: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump stages a campaign rally in Wildwood, New Jersey

Sunday

Lithuania: presidential election
Spain: Catalonia regional parliamentary elections
UK: Bafta TV Awards held at London’s Royal Festival Hall

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News

In the United States, Every World Cup Team Is a Home Team

Published

7 hours ago

July 1, 2026

Press Room

In the United States, Every World Cup Team Is a Home Team

It’s a tiny restaurant in the Little Morocco neighborhood of Queens. But throughout this World Cup, it has swelled with pride, song and beating drums as the Moroccan national team has pushed its way deep into soccer’s biggest international tournament.

It’s a scene that has been echoed across the United States — in a multitude of languages and colors, as soccer fans from all over the world, many now making their homes in America, have packed bars, restaurants, living rooms and concert venues.

No matter where they came from or where they gathered, they all sought the same experience: a chance to watch their nations compete while surrounded by others who share passion and pride for the country they or their ancestors once called home.

Together, these fans have brought places throughout the United States to life.

Bosnia vs Qatar

Bosnians Rejoice in St. Louis, Mo.

Visuals by David Robert Elliott

Thousands of Bosnians settled in the St. Louis area during the 1990s, as war and genocide ripped their communities apart. The city is now home to more than 60,000 Bosnians, scores of whom gathered at Bevo Caffe Lounge on June 24 to watch Bosnia and Herzegovina play.

This is only the second time the team has qualified for the World Cup — and the first time it has reached the knockout round. Its reward: Meeting one of the hosts, the United States, on Wednesday in Santa Clara, Calif.

Haiti vs Brazil

In Miami, Little Haiti Comes to Life

More than 100,000 residents of Miami-Dade County, Fla., are of Haitian descent, and the Little Haiti neighborhood of Miami has long been their central hub.

During the World Cup, fans of Haiti’s team have flocked to the neighborhood, packing restaurants, bars and even parking lots to watch the action. Many have come wearing jerseys, while others simply dressed in the red and blue of the Haitian flag.

Haiti ended up in a tough group, losing all of its matches, including a 3-0 defeat to Brazil on June 19. But for some fans, the fact that the team had qualified at all was its one victory. Before this year, Haiti had played in only one other World Cup, in 1974.

Morocco

Moroccan Joy in Queens, N.Y.

Todd Heisler/The New York Times

Touria Lamtahaf worked as a chef four years ago at a restaurant in Astoria, Queens, in the heart of an enclave on Steinway Avenue known as Little Morocco.

After the Moroccan team upset Portugal in a World Cup quarterfinal, Ms. Lamtahaf remembers hundreds of Morocco fans surging onto Steinway Avenue, setting off flares and red smoke bombs to celebrate.

“It was a good memory for all of us,” she said. “We were very proud. You just needed something to be happy. After Covid, this was amazing.”

The neighborhood has long been a hub for immigrant communities from North African countries, including Egypt, and is also home to a large Greek community.

Many settled in Astoria decades ago, drawn by low rents and a neighborhood that could feel calm compared with other bustling parts of New York. Ms. Lamtahaf, who moved to the United States in 2007, said that she originally lived in Ridgewood neighborhood of Queens, but word of mouth led her to Astoria, where she now runs her own restaurant.

The restaurant, Dar Lbahja, is just a few blocks from where she used to work. Ms. Lamtahaf said that when she opened it just over a year ago, she wanted to create a space where people could not just eat, but also gather to watch soccer, like she did growing up with her father in Morocco.

“It was only one TV, and we had to watch with him,” Ms. Lamtahaf said. “So we grew up with the soccer.”

During this tournament, Morocco fans have packed into Dar Lbahja on game days, with many in Morocco’s red jersey, and others in the team’s white kit. They were rewarded with a berth in the knockout stages, and then again on Monday when their team won a tense matchup with the Netherlands in a penalty shootout.

Fans took to the streets in jubilant celebration, just as they did in 2022.

Kacem Ettahali, 19, of Houston, is spending the summer in New York for an internship and watched the first Morocco game of the tournament on June 13 at the restaurant.

After the team scored, Mr. Ettahali received a flurry of texts from his friends. “When they think of Morocco, they think of me,” he said.

He wasn’t the only Texan in the joint. Jori and Ahmed Lamghari traveled from the Dallas area because Ms. Lamghari, 43, wanted her husband to experience the city during the tournament. “I wanted him to get the New York World Cup vibe,” she said.

Mr. Lamghari, 33, said that “Moroccans make their own ambience,” adding, “We want to live it.”

France vs Norway

In Chicago, Hope for Another French Title

The French love a good outdoor drinking venue. For the country’s June 26 match against the rowing Norwegians, fans gathered on the outdoor patio of Soccer House in Chicago, a city whose deep French roots stretch back to the colonial days.

France is widely considered a tournament favorite, potentially giving its fans several more opportunities to celebrate.

Argentina vs Austria

In Provo, Utah, Messi Mania Is a Family Affair

Sporting the colors is intergenerational in Provo, Utah. Luis and Lidia Peve moved there 25 years ago, following a son who emigrated first, and decorated their home with small Argentina flags ahead of the team’s match against Austria on June 22.

As game time approached, about a dozen members of the family painted their faces with the sky blue and white of Argentina’s flag. Together, they sat around the TV with their eyes trained particularly on Lionel Messi, the team’s star, who is likely playing in his last World Cup.

He finished the game with three goals — a hat trick — and a new generation of fans in the Peve household.

D.R. Congo vs Colombia

In Silver Spring, Md., a Happy Return to the World Cup

Visuals by Salwan Georges

Congolese fans in Silver Spring, Md., belted out their national anthem in a veterans hall, hands over their hearts, ahead of the country’s match against Colombia on June 23.

Refugee aid programs have resettled many Congolese families in the suburbs north of the nation’s capital, as their nation has been rived by war, unrest and now an Ebola outbreak.

The Congolese side lost its match to Colombia on that day. But the team managed to advance out of the group stage for the first time in its history. Before this World Cup, the country had been to the tournament only once, in 1974, when it lost all of its matches.

Portugal

A Block Party of Red and Green in Rhode Island

Visuals by Adrienne Grunwald

The go-to drink special last weekend in East Providence, R.I., was a vodka cocktail called the CR7. And you’d be hard-pressed to find a resident of the region who didn’t know it was in honor of Cristiano Ronaldo, the 41-year-old Portuguese striker who is playing in his sixth — and likely last — World Cup, wearing his famous No. 7.

The drink was served at the Portuguese restaurant O Dinis, a neighborhood staple. A large number of Portuguese immigrants settled in this corner of Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts during the Industrial Revolution, finding work in the textile, whaling and manufacturing industries.

“Life is beautiful in Portugal,” said Natalia Paiva-Neves, who moved to the United States when she was 16 and now runs O Dinis, which was founded by her father. “But at the time, there was a lot of poverty, because there were no jobs, and there was no tourism. There was none of that stuff going on, so you had to find a means to provide for your family.”

After pre-gaming over CR7s, along with beer, wine, meats and shrimp, some fans walked from O Dinis to a watch party that stretched for two blocks, from a screen in the parking lot of nearby Cafe Alma to Campino’s, another Portuguese restaurant.

“It’s just a great feeling,” said Kevin Matos, the cafe’s owner. “Everybody’s enjoying themselves. It doesn’t matter the result on the screen.”

Some fans might not have agreed, though a scoreless draw sent both teams through to the knockout stage.

The block party, with hundreds of fans lining the streets, was in part the brainchild of East Providence’s mayor, Roberto DaSilva. “We had no idea that it’d be this many people showing up,” he said. “We thought we got a good crowd, but this is much more than than I ever expected.”

Some had to stand on their tiptoes see the screens. Others packed into shops to sit down and watch the game, while others pulled out their phones as they stood in line to buy beer and snacks from food trucks and vendors.

Mexico vs South Korea

A Backyard Party in a Texas Border Town

Visuals by Gabriel V. Cárdenas

Roughly four out of five residents in the Texas border town of Weslaco are of Mexican descent, making the country’s June 18 match in Guadalajara feel like a home game.

For a youth soccer team, it was a chance to watch their heroes take another step toward the knockout rounds.

Under the night sky, they watched anxiously, breaking into dance after Mexico won.

Uruguay vs Spain

Elimination Brings Anguish to Uruguay Fans in Miami

Visuals by Scott McIntyre

Uruguay needed this one. The nation that hosted the first World Cup in 1930, winning the tournament that year and again in 1950, was on the brink of elimination last week against Spain — considered one of the strongest teams in the tournament.

Fans at Doña Paulina, a Uruguayan restaurant in Miami, anxiously watched their team fight for a chance to stay in the competition.

It wasn’t to be. Spain emerged victorious, 1-0.

Japan vs Tunisia

In San Diego, Fans Cheer the Samurai Blue

Their team is called the Samurai Blue, and the many Japanese fans living in Southern California — a diaspora that first settled there in the late 19th century as farmers and fishermen, and endured harsh incarceration during World War II — made their blue kits prominent as the team played its way through a so-called group of death.

They eventually earned a second-place finish to reach the round of 32. The result was a Monday matchup with Brazil, in which Japan fell 2-1.

Iran

In Los Angeles, Mixed Feelings About the Iranian Team

For Americans from Iran, supporting the Iranian national team has been a thorny issue.

Some have refused to even watch the matches. To them, the team feels like an extension of the government, whose persecution drove many to flee the country. It’s especially difficult as their new home, the United States, and their old home are at war.

“That’s a little conflict for me,” said Roozbeh Farahanipour, who helped lead an Iranian student uprising in 1999 and fled the country the following year, seeking political asylum in America. “I am a little different from other fans, because no way I can cheer or stand for either Islamic Republic of Iran’s national anthem, nor for the flags.”

He added, “I am American now. My flag is the U.S. flag.”

Others of Iranian descent have eagerly backed the national team and bristled at its travails, especially in Southern California, which was host to the team’s first match and is home to the largest diaspora of Iranians outside Iran. Many live, shop and eat in the Westwood area of Los Angeles, where an enclave has become known as Tehrangeles, after the Iranian capital.

Still, compared with those of other diasporas, gatherings to back the Iranian team have seemed smaller and more muted. Only a handful of fans gathered at Attari Sandwich Shop, a Persian eatery in the heart of Tehrangeles, during Iran’s June 21 match against Belgium at SoFi Stadium in nearby Inglewood, Calif.

Inside the restaurant, some fans anxiously watched the game over kebab plates and pastries. Others outside proudly waved their flags on the neighborhood thoroughfare, Westwood Boulevard.

Bijan Bahmani, who lives in Los Angeles, took his 2-year-old son to Iran’s match against New Zealand on June 15 in Inglewood with his father-in-law. While he opposes the Iranian regime and hopes for democracy one day, Mr. Bahmani said he still wanted to cheer to the national team.

“It’s complicated, because we have feelings a lot of different ways, with the complicated politics,” said Mr. Bahmani, 41, who moved to the United States in 2001. “I am definitely rooting for Iran because they represent Iran, not the government.”

Even as he took in the game with this family, Mr. Bahmani said the war was on his mind.

“I hope this peace lasts,” he said, referring to the current fragile cease-fire. “Every day, we’re worried.”

Cape Verde vs Saudi Arabia

Celebrating the Small but Mighty in New Bedford, Mass.

Every tournament has a surprise underdog. This year, it’s Cape Verde, a small island nation off the western coast of Africa. Its team had an opportunity on Friday to become the smallest country by population ever to advance to a World Cup knockout round.

The pivotal match drew people of Cape Verdean descent to a veterans hall in New Bedford, Mass., about an hour drive south of Boston. Like Portugal and Brazil, whaling and related industries brought a sizable population of immigrants from Cape Verde to southeastern New England.

A scoreless tie with Saudi Arabia was all it took for tears and roars to erupt in the veterans hall. Their team would keep playing, for at least one more game.

Brazil vs Haiti

A Brazilian Dance Party Near Boston

Massachusetts has a long history of Portuguese-speaking settlers, making Brazilians feel welcome in the Boston area. That’s especially the case in the southwest suburb of Framingham, Mass., where the Brazilian-born population rivals that of Boston.

They packed into Tropical Cafe, a Brazilian restaurant in Framingham, gathering around hightop tables as their team played Haiti on June 19. After Brazil secured a 3-0 win, fans made the restaurant an impromptu dance club to celebrate.

Germany vs Curaçao

In Texas, German Fans Root, and Eat, to Honor a Neighbor

Bratwurst and steins of beer accompanied the match at Bavarian Grill in Plano, Texas, a Dallas suburb, as Germany played Curaçao in Houston on June 14. But perhaps the city’s most important fan of the German team was not there.

Jürgen Mahneke, who was born in Braunschweig, Germany, immigrated to the United States in 1984, and worked in hotels across the country before settling in Plano.

He opened the restaurant in 1993, and died at age 67 on June 10, a day before the World Cup began.

His restaurant went on with the planned festivities. One of the managers said Mr. Mahneke would have wanted them to. His team won its opener, 7-1, but went home on Monday, falling to Paraguay in a heartbreaking penalty shootout — the opposite of Morocco’s elating win hours later.

News

What the Supreme Court did on the final day of its term

Published

9 hours ago

July 1, 2026

Press Room

What the Supreme Court did on the final day of its term

The U.S. Supreme Court

Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

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Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

The Supreme Court Tuesday upheld the long-established right of children born on U.S. soil to automatic American citizenship, regardless of their parents’ immigration status. In so doing, the court rejected President Trump’s most aggressive attempt to limit immigration in the United States.

Writing for the court majority, Chief Justice John Roberts traced birthright citizenship back to the founding of the nation. Just as the colonists demanded “the rights of Englishmen” more than 250 years ago, he said, Congress, after the Civil War, amended the Constitution to specify automatic citizenship for any child born on U.S. soil.

“Citizenship then and now was the right to have rights”—and the framers of the 14th amendment extended that promise to every free born person in this land. He concluded: “We keep that promise today.”

The vote was 6-to-3, depending on how you count it. Altogether, five justices signed on to the Roberts’ majority opinion. A sixth, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, agreed only that federal legislation enacted in the 1950s grants automatic citizenship for children born in the U.S.

Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the lead dissent, a 91-page opus that agreed with Trump’s assertion that the 14th amendment only applied to former slaves and their descendants. The Thomas dissent added ominously that he “was not sure that “today’s opinion will stand the test of time.” The dissent was joined by Justice Neil Gorsuch, with Justice Samuel Alito writing a separate dissent.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who, like Thomas is African American, responded to some of the themes in the Thomas dissent.

“Despite his longstanding endorsement of a colorblind society,” she wrote, “Justice Thomas now surprisingly suggests that the citizenship clause was a race-conscious remedial measure relating only to freed slaves.”

Cecillia Wang, legal director of the ACLU, who successfully argued the case at the Supreme Court, said President’s Trump failed attempt to limit birthright citizenship was transparent.

“A majority of the court saw through what the president was trying to do in spinning birthright citizenship as something that can flex and retract and expand depending on what the administration in power thinks about immigration policy,” she said.

Wang sees birthright citizenship as “much more fundamental than that.”

“It is part of how our country rejected caste distinctions and championed freedom and equality,” she said.

Yale law professor Akhil Amar called the court’s opinion a classic example of the court sticking to the original meaning of the Constitution. The text of the 14th Amendment, he said, “is about the child. It doesn’t say anything about parents.”

University of Virginia law professor Amanda Frost, however, was surprised and saddened that the court was so closely divided.

“The very length of the opinion,” she told NPR, plus “the fact that you had four justices say the Constitution does not require near universal birthright citizenship, which had been the understanding, that suggests that this is a fringe argument that the Trump administration has succeeded in moving into the mainstream, even though it has not succeeded in the end of the result.”

The issues in the birthright case focused in large part on the longstanding, and as of Tuesday, still standing, meaning of the 14th Amendment, which was enacted after the Civil War. It guarantees birthright citizenship to almost all persons born or naturalized in the United States. Chief Justice Roberts pointedly said the only exceptions written into the amendment were for certain Indian tribes, which were not subject to the laws of the United States at the time, and the children of foreign diplomats. That understanding was so well accepted that even in World War II, when Japanese citizens were confined to internment camps, their children, born in those camps, were automatically deemed to be American Citizens.

The Supreme Court’s decision ~~Tuesday~~ was the second time the justices have upheld birthright citizenship. The court’s previous decision came in 1898 in the case of Wong Kim Ark, born in the U.S. to Chinese parents. His great grandson, Norman Wong, issued a statement today saying, “My great grandfather, Wong Kim Ark, never set out to become a symbol. He was one man, only a cook, and yet he stood up for what was right, and I believe that it has made a difference. As a result, he stood up for the rights of all of us Americans – it just so happens that I am related to him. Today’s ruling shows that his victory remains as important now as it was in 1898.”

The high court also issued opinions in two other cases on Tuesday. In a 6-to-3, ideologically divided vote, the court upheld state laws that prevent transgender athletes from playing on women’s sports teams. Writing for the conservative majority, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said that the laws violate neither federal statutes nor the 14th Amendment. States, he said, have a legitimate interest in protecting the safety of sports, which he suggested could be compromised if transgender girls or women are allowed to play on female teams. Similarly, he said transgender athletes could also compromise fairness in athletic competition.

Sitting in the court chambers Tuesday when Kavanaugh summarized his opinion were not only his wife and mother, but his two daughters, whose athletic teams their father has long coached.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by her liberal colleagues, issued a partial dissent. She agreed with the majority that the benefits of sports are “immense,” but she wrote that these laws unconstitutionally deny transgender athletes the opportunity to play with their peers.

In a third ideologically divided case Tuesday, the Court struck down decades-long limits on the amount of money political parties can spend on candidates. The limits were challenged by the Republican National Committee. The decision may well increase by millions of dollars the amount of money that will pour into campaigns.

News

Rep. Tom Kean returns to Congress, says depression is why he went missing for months

Published

19 hours ago

June 30, 2026

Press Room

Rep. Tom Kean returns to Congress, says depression is why he went missing for months

Rep. Thomas Kean Jr., R-N.J., arrives at the U.S. Capitol with his wife Rhonda Kean on June 30.

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Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

New Jersey Republican Thomas Kean Jr. said it was struggles with depression that kept him away from Congress for nearly four months with no explanation to his constituents.

Kean last voted on March 5th, missing numerous votes and other appearances on Capitol Hill since. In April, House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters he had spoken to Kean and that he was dealing with an undisclosed medical issue. Kean was not spotted until recently at his New Jersey home.

Speaking from the House floor on Tuesday, the second term lawmaker said he had checked into a hospital for testing several months ago after health concerns, and was subsequently diagnosed with depression.

“Talking about myself has never come naturally,” Kean said. “But I believe that I owe an explanation to the people of New Jersey’s seventh district, to my colleagues in this chamber and to the American people for my absence.”

Kean said he originally did not think his diagnosis would result in a long-term absence. Doctors recommended he remain in the hospital to address the illness, and it was his fastest route to recovery, he said.

“It is physical. It is emotional,” he said. “And until you experience it yourself, it is difficult to fully understand how powerful this illness could be.”

Kean said he miscalculated how long he would be away, estimating it would be a matter of weeks. However, he said like the roughly 48 million Americans who have battled the illness, he learned there is no timeline for recovery.

“I am grateful that I accepted help,” Kean said. “Today I stand before you healthier, stronger and excited to return to the work that I love.”

Kean’s absence proved a struggle for House Republicans, who contend with a razor thin majority to pass party priorities. For weeks, Kean and his office declined to share additional details on why he was away, feeding rumors and speculation and raising interest in a member known for his privacy.

Despite his absence, Kean won the GOP primary earlier this month to defend his seat in Congress in this fall’s midterm elections. He will face Democrat Rebecca Bennett, a former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot and healthcare executive.

Bennett has targeted Kean’s absence in her campaign. Democrats have said Kean’s 7th congressional district is a top target to flip in their pursuit of taking back the majority.

“Tom Kean Junior, wherever you are, you have failed this district,” Bennett told supporters at an event last week.

In a statement after Kean’s remarks on Tuesday, Bennett said she was relieved he was well and wished him good health.

“But let’s be clear: I got into this race because Tom Kean Jr. was failing our community long before this absence,” she said.

Kean is not the first member of Congress in recent years to speak publicly about their struggles with depression. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., took leave from the Capitol in 2023 after he was diagnosed with the illness. In Fetterman’s case, his office announced the news within days of his starting treatment.

Kean was elected to Congress for his first term beginning in 2023, flipping a district that was represented by former Democratic Congressman Tom Malinowski.

He comes from a long line of politicians: His father, former New Jersey Gov. Thomas Kean Sr., was appointed by former President George W. Bush as a chair of the 9/11 Commission. Kean’s grandfather and great grandfather also served in Congress.