Sen. Chris Murphy leaves hospital after stroke, will miss weeks of Senate votes

Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy has been discharged from the hospital after a stroke last weekend. He will miss "several weeks" of Senate votes while he recovers at a rehabilitation facility, his office announced Friday ¹⁴.

Murphy is 53. He was treated at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore ². Doctors diagnosed what his physician called a "small hemorrhagic stroke," which is a bleed in the brain ¹².

What Murphy said

In a written statement, Murphy said he felt "something was not right" with his body last Saturday afternoon and called 911 as a precaution ¹³. He said he was diagnosed with a small bleed in the thalamus region of his brain ². The thalamus sits above the brainstem and relays sensory information between the spinal cord and the brain, according to the Cleveland Clinic ³.

This has been a scary experience for me and my family, and I appreciate the continued respect for our privacy

Murphy said he is staying in touch with his team and colleagues remotely. His staff continues to carry out his legislative priorities and serve constituents, he said ²³.

From Channel GOPMurphy presses Hegseth on President's billion-dollar planeChris Murphy · 206 plays · captioned, with the source named

What his doctor said

Dr. Jose Suarez, chief of neurosciences critical care at Johns Hopkins, gave a hopeful outlook in a statement released by Murphy's office ²³.

He has shown tremendous progress, and at the current rate of improvement, we expect that he will make a full recovery following rehabilitation

Murphy's office said Sunday that he had numbness in his arm at his son's hockey game and was taken to a local hospital. There, doctors found he had suffered a stroke. He was then transferred to Johns Hopkins ²³. NBC News reported that it is unclear what led to the stroke ².

Why it matters for the Senate

Murphy was not on the ballot Tuesday, but he had been campaigning for other Democrats ². His party is set to take the Senate majority early next year, and ABC News projects Democrats will control both the Senate and the House ¹².

Murphy sits on the Appropriations Committee and is a leading voice on immigration and gun policy ⁴. He also serves on the Foreign Relations and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committees ². He is deputy secretary of the Senate Democratic Caucus, a role that could change in the new Congress ².

That matters because a new majority counts every vote. Murphy's office has not said exactly when he will return, only that he expects to be back after several weeks. Any vote he misses before then could matter, depending on how narrow the final Senate margin turns out to be.

Three other Senate Democrats have had strokes in recent years ²⁴. Sens. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland had strokes in 2022 and have since recovered ⁴. Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman had a stroke that year while campaigning, and he now uses adaptive technology in the Senate, including live captioning ⁴.

Murphy is also considered a possible 2028 presidential contender, and a contender for more senior Senate leadership positions ²⁴. His office has asked for privacy while he recovers ³.

The Record

1. Oct 31, 2026Murphy has numbness in his arm at his son's hockey game, is taken to a local hospital and is then transferred to Johns Hopkins ²³.
2. Nov 3, 2026Midterm election day. Murphy was not on the ballot but had campaigned for fellow Democrats ².
3. Nov 6, 2026Murphy is discharged and says he will miss several weeks of Senate votes while in rehabilitation ¹²⁴.

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<h2>Sen. Chris Murphy leaves hospital after stroke, will miss weeks of Senate votes</h2> <p><em>By The GOP Files Capitol Desk. This article first appeared on <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/sen-chris-murphy-leaves-hospital-after-stroke-will-miss-weeks-of-senate-votes">The GOP Files</a> on Friday, November 6, 2026.</em></p> <p>Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy has been discharged from the hospital after a stroke last weekend. He will miss &quot;several weeks&quot; of Senate votes while he recovers at a rehabilitation facility, his office announced Friday .</p> <p>Murphy is 53. He was treated at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore . Doctors diagnosed what his physician called a &quot;small hemorrhagic stroke,&quot; which is a bleed in the brain .</p> <h2>What Murphy said</h2> <p>In a written statement, Murphy said he felt &quot;something was not right&quot; with his body last Saturday afternoon and called 911 as a precaution . He said he was diagnosed with a small bleed in the thalamus region of his brain . The thalamus sits above the brainstem and relays sensory information between the spinal cord and the brain, according to the Cleveland Clinic .</p> <blockquote><p>This has been a scary experience for me and my family, and I appreciate the continued respect for our privacy</p><p>&mdash; Chris Murphy, U.S. senator, Democrat-Connecticut</p></blockquote> <p>Murphy said he is staying in touch with his team and colleagues remotely. His staff continues to carry out his legislative priorities and serve constituents, he said .</p> <h2>What his doctor said</h2> <p>Dr. Jose Suarez, chief of neurosciences critical care at Johns Hopkins, gave a hopeful outlook in a statement released by Murphy&#39;s office .</p> <blockquote><p>He has shown tremendous progress, and at the current rate of improvement, we expect that he will make a full recovery following rehabilitation</p><p>&mdash; Jose Suarez, chief of neurosciences critical care, Johns Hopkins</p></blockquote> <p>Murphy&#39;s office said Sunday that he had numbness in his arm at his son&#39;s hockey game and was taken to a local hospital. There, doctors found he had suffered a stroke. He was then transferred to Johns Hopkins . NBC News reported that it is unclear what led to the stroke .</p> <h2>Why it matters for the Senate</h2> <p>Murphy was not on the ballot Tuesday, but he had been campaigning for other Democrats . His party is set to take the Senate majority early next year, and ABC News projects Democrats will control both the Senate and the House .</p> <p>Murphy sits on the Appropriations Committee and is a leading voice on immigration and gun policy . He also serves on the Foreign Relations and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committees . He is deputy secretary of the Senate Democratic Caucus, a role that could change in the new Congress .</p> <p>That matters because a new majority counts every vote. Murphy&#39;s office has not said exactly when he will return, only that he expects to be back after several weeks. Any vote he misses before then could matter, depending on how narrow the final Senate margin turns out to be.</p> <p>Three other Senate Democrats have had strokes in recent years . Sens. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland had strokes in 2022 and have since recovered . Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman had a stroke that year while campaigning, and he now uses adaptive technology in the Senate, including live captioning .</p> <p>Murphy is also considered a possible 2028 presidential contender, and a contender for more senior Senate leadership positions . His office has asked for privacy while he recovers .</p> <p><em>Read the original, with every source linked, at <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/sen-chris-murphy-leaves-hospital-after-stroke-will-miss-weeks-of-senate-votes">thegopfiles.com</a>. Republished under The GOP Files' <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/republish">free republishing terms</a>.</em></p> <img src="https://thegopfiles.com/api/rp/sen-chris-murphy-leaves-hospital-after-stroke-will-miss-weeks-of-senate-votes.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border:0;width:1px;height:1px">

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Sources

1. ABC News, “Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy discharged from hospital after stroke” (2026-11-06). abcnews.com/Politics/wireStory/connecticut-sen-chris-murphy-
2. NBC News, “Sen. Chris Murphy discharged from hospital after stroke” (2026-11-06). nbcnews.com/politics/congress/senator-chris-murphy-discharge
3. CBS News, “Sen. Chris Murphy out of hospital, will miss votes after stroke” (2026-11-06). cbsnews.com/news/chris-murphy-stroke-hospital-miss-votes/
4. PBS NewsHour, “Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy released from hospital after stroke” (2026-11-06). pbs.org/newshour/politics/connecticut-sen-chris-murphy-relea

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