Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy discharged from hospital after stroke

WASHINGTON (AP) — Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy says he has been discharged from the hospital after suffering a stroke last weekend and will miss “several weeks” of votes in the Senate as he recovers in a rehabilitation facility.

Murphy, 53, said in a statement Friday that doctors are “encouraged by the progress” he’s made so far.

Murphy says doctors diagnosed him with a small hemorrhagic stroke, which is a bleed in the brain. Murphy says he called 911 last Saturday after feeling that “something was not right” with his body.

“This has been a scary experience for me and my family, and I appreciate the continued respect for our privacy,” he said.

In the Senate, Murphy serves on the Appropriations Committee and is a leading voice on immigration and gun policy. He is considered a contender for more senior leadership positions in the Senate and among the many Democrats seen as potential 2028 candidates for the White House.

Three other Senate Democrats have had strokes in recent years.

Sens. Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland had strokes in 2022 and have since recovered. Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman had a stroke while campaigning for his seat that same year and now uses adaptive technology in the Senate, including live captioning on a phone or tablet that transcribes words as people speak to him and helps him process the conversation.

Fetterman said on social media on Sunday that his family was “rooting for Chris and his family for a full and speedy recovery.”