MAGA Rep. Lauren Boebert Flames Fellow Republican Tom Kean for Going MIA
Kean returned to Congress and publicly described his diagnosis and experience with depression.

SOURCE CHECK
TAP FOR WHYThe Daily Beast is an established national digital newsroom with attributed reporting and named authors, though this article’s tabloid-style framing is less restrained than its underlying reporting. The story uses direct statements and identifies an attempt to obtain comment from Kean’s office.
- Source type — Established national news outlet; a strong institutional baseline, tempered by a sensational presentation.
- Transparency — The story identifies its interview source and says Kean’s office was contacted.
- Author attribution — A named author is credited.
- Editorial standards — The article attributes key statements, but uses judgmental language in describing Boebert’s remarks.
The article gives direct quotations from both representatives and provides the timeline of Kean’s absence, but most of its attention is on Boebert’s criticism. It notes that Kean’s office was contacted without including a response, and offers limited additional context.
HOW WE SCORE ↗The article includes Kean’s account of his diagnosis and his own explanation for sharing it, but it devotes most of its space to Boebert’s criticism. No response from Kean’s office is included.
- Counterarguments presented — Kean’s floor speech and Facebook statement provide his perspective, but no direct response to Boebert is reported.
- Source diversity — The article quotes both lawmakers, but relies primarily on their statements and Boebert’s interview.
- Loaded language — Some descriptions characterize Boebert’s remarks rather than neutrally reporting them.
- Omitted context — The article provides limited context about congressional attendance during medical absences.
The article’s framing is critical of Boebert, describing her remarks as showing little empathy and as a tirade. It nevertheless relies substantially on direct quotations rather than making a broader partisan argument.
- Language tone — Descriptions such as “showing little empathy” and “tirade” cast Boebert’s remarks negatively.
- Headline — The headline uses the charged verb “Flames” and the colloquial “Going MIA.”
- Framing — The story foregrounds Boebert’s disparaging response to Kean’s depression disclosure.
Lauren Boebert criticized fellow Republican Tom Kean after he returned to Congress following more than three months away and disclosed that he had received treatment for depression. Boebert called his absence embarrassing and said representatives should work despite depression.
Kean returned to Capitol Hill on Tuesday after an absence that began following his March 5 vote. In a speech on the House floor, he said he had been hospitalized for testing and diagnosed with depression, and described the illness as affecting people physically and emotionally.
Asked about Kean’s explanation, Boebert called his absence embarrassing and questioned taking time away from work because of depression. She argued representatives should come in to vote and said their absence disrespected voters. Kean later wrote that sharing his experience was difficult but might help others feel less alone.
Community verdict
15 VOTESPeople in this story
SWIPE →New Jersey representative returning after treatment for depression
Colorado representative criticizing Kean’s absence from Congress
Boebert's version of this story ↗Part of a bigger story
47 OUTLETSKean disclosed that he had been treated for depression during a months-long absence from Congress and returned after nearly four months away. Left-leaning outlets emphasize scrutiny of the absence, including criticism from Boebert or Kean’s challenger, while Newsone frames it through race and gender. Center outlets focus on the health disclosure, return and missed votes, sometimes adding electoral or House-majority consequences. Right-leaning outlets mostly recount the disclosure and return, while the Washington Examiner argues the absence exposed an accountability gap.
- ARTICLES
- 49
- OUTLETS
- 47
- AVG CRED
- 78
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