US Senator Chris Murphy has been hospitalised after suffering a stroke, with his chief of staff saying he is expected to make a full recovery.
Murphy, 53, began experiencing numbness in his arm while attending his son’s hockey game, Allison Herwitt said in a statement on Sunday. He was taken to a local hospital before being transferred to Johns Hopkins for further monitoring.
“Yesterday afternoon, Senator Murphy started experiencing numbness in his arm while at his son’s hockey game,” Ms Herwitt said. “He was taken to a local hospital, where it was discovered he had experienced a stroke. He was transferred to Johns Hopkins for further monitoring and is responding well to treatment.”
The Connecticut Democrat is a prominent figure in his party and has been a frequent campaign surrogate for candidates during the midterm cycle. He is also regarded as a possible contender for the 2028 presidential nomination.
Murphy has established himself as a foreign policy voice and a leading advocate of aggressive oversight of the executive branch. He recently returned from a multi-stop tour of the Middle East, after which he warned that President Trump would dramatically escalate his war on Iran after the midterm election.
His hospitalisation comes after several other US lawmakers experienced serious health issues this year. Senator Mitch McConnell missed months of Senate work during a prolonged hospital stay and rehabilitation, while Representative Tom Kean was absent from the Capitol for months before announcing that he had been receiving treatment for depression.
In 2022, three prominent Democratic lawmakers – Senator Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico, Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and then-Senate candidate John Fetterman – were hospitalised after suffering strokes.
