Sen. Chris Murphy suffers stroke ahead of midterms, colleagues pray for recovery
Members of both parties in the U.S. Senate are praying for Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., after the 53-year-old lawmaker suffered a stroke.
Allison Herwitt, chief of staff to Murphy, issued a press release on Sunday confirming that the Connecticut senator, who has been in the Senate since 2013, had experienced a stroke on Saturday afternoon.
“Yesterday afternoon, Senator Murphy started experiencing numbness in his arm while at his son’s hockey game. He was taken to a local hospital, where it was discovered he had experienced a stroke,” she stated.
“He was transferred to Johns Hopkins for further monitoring and is responding well to treatment. The doctors are encouraged by his progress, he is awake and alert, and we are optimistic he will make a full recovery.”
Multiple members of Congress have taken to social media to offer their well-wishes to Murphy, including Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa.
“[My wife] Barbara & I are praying for Sen Chris Murphy as he recovers from a stroke,” he wrote on X on Sunday. The post had received about 1,700 likes as of Monday afternoon.
“Sending all of my prayers and well wishes to my friend and colleague,” stated Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., who suffered a stroke in 2022. “I am relieved you are responding to treatment and that it was caught early. Much love, brother, and I know you’ll be back on your feet soon! Stay strong.”
“Scary news about [Murphy],” said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., in a post on X Sunday afternoon. “Praying for his quick recovery and return to full health!”
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who suffered a stroke while campaigning in 2022, wrote, “As someone who survived a near-fatal stroke, I understand all too well how much this impacts your life. My family is rooting for Chris and his family for a full and speedy recovery.”
Murphy is not on the ballot in Tuesday’s midterm elections but had been campaigning for Democratic candidates. In the days before his stroke, he had also sharply criticized President Donald Trump’s foreign policy in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, according to a press release from his office.
Last Friday, Murphy accused Trump of sabotaging the efforts of Ukraine to defend its territory against the Russian invasion that began in 2022, citing recent actions taken on behalf of Russia.
At the same event, Murphy claimed that Trump’s handling of the war with Iran was “ill thought out and insane,” adding that it was “my hope” that “Democrats, after this election, will take immediate steps to end the war in Iran and take immediate steps to find new ways to force the administration's hand on supporting Ukraine.”
Asked about Murphy’s stroke, Trump told reporters that “we don’t like to hear a thing like that” and that he was “a little surprised to hear it.”
