High-ranking US Democratic senator suffers stroke

SaveSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkUS Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat, speaks during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on a Department of Defense funding request by US President Donald Trump in July [File: Eric Lee/Reuters]By Al Jazeera StaffPublished On 1 Nov 20261 Nov 2026United States Senator Chris Murphy, a high-ranking Democratic legislator, has suffered a stroke but is “awake and alert”, his senior aide said.Murphy remained hospitalised on Sunday after seeking medical care for numbness in his arm the day before, his chief-of-staff, Allison Herwitt, said in a statement.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3‘Foreign policy is the economy’: How Iran war is shaping US midterm votelist 2 of 3US weighs new Iran strikes as Vance reaches out: Is war or a deal closer?list 3 of 3Iran lawmakers call for withdrawal from NPT: Will we have war or peace?end of listShe said he was “responding well to treatment” at John Hopkins, one of the country’s top hospitals.“The doctors are encouraged by his progress, he is awake and alert, and we are optimistic he will make a full recovery,” Herwitt said.Murphy is not up for re-election in Tuesday’s midterms that will decide which party controls Congress, but is considered a potential presidential candidate in 2028.A 20-year senator from the state of Connecticut, Murphy serves as a top Democrat on two powerful Senate committees: appropriations, which decides how US government funds are allocated, and foreign relations.Murphy toured the Middle East in October, the first regional trip by a US Democrat since the US-Israel war on Iran began in February.He has been a fierce critic of US President Donald Trump and the Iran war, pledging that Democrats will withhold funding for the war if they win the Senate on Tuesday.He accused the US Defense Department of denying him access to a US military base in Qatar during his trip last month and has pledged to investigate Trump and his family for alleged corruption if Democrats win the Senate.Trump said he was “really surprised” to learn about Murphy’s stroke, adding that “nobody wants to have that”.