© 2026 Western New York Public Broadcasting Association

140 Lower Terrace St.
Buffalo, NY 14202

Toronto Address:
130 Queens Quay E.
Suite 903
Toronto, ON M5A 0P6


Mailing Address:
Horizons Plaza P.O. Box 1263
Buffalo, NY 14240-1263

Buffalo Toronto Public Media | Phone 716-845-7000
BTPM NPR Newsroom | Phone: 716-845-7040
Differing shades of blue wavering throughout the image
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy is hospitalized with a stroke

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., appears at a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in 2025. Murphy's office says he was hospitalized this weekend with a stroke.
Chip Somodevilla
/
Getty Images
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., appears at a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in 2025. Murphy's office says he was hospitalized this weekend with a stroke.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., has been hospitalized following a stroke, according to his office.

In a statement on Sunday, Murphy's chief of staff, Allison Herwitt, said he is expected to make a full recovery.

"Yesterday afternoon, Senator Murphy started experiencing numbness in his arm while at his son's hockey game," Herwitt wrote. "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."

Murphy, 53, is a prominent figure in the party and has been a prolific campaign surrogate for candidates through the midterm cycle. Viewed as a possible 2028 presidential contender, Murphy has carved out a position as a foreign policy leader and champion of aggressive executive branch oversight.

He recently returned from a multistop tour in the Middle East, after which he warned that President Trump would dramatically escalate his war on Iran after the midterm election.

The lawmaker is the latest in a string of lawmakers to experience a health crisis this year. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., missed months of Senate work during a lengthy hospital stay and rehabilitation process. Rep. Tom Kean, R-N.J., was missing from the Capitol for months for what he later announced was treatment for depression.

In 2022, three prominent Democratic lawmakers — Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, and then-Senate candidate John Fetterman — were all hospitalized for strokes.

Copyright 2026 NPR

Eric McDaniel
Eric McDaniel is a congressional reporter for NPR's Washington Desk.