High-ranking US Democratic senator suffers stroke

Senator Chris Murphy, a fierce Trump critic who is not up for re-election in the midterms, is ‘alert’ after a stroke.

US 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]

United 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.

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She 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”.

参议员克里斯·墨菲是特朗普的激烈批评者，他不会参加中期选举的连任竞选。中风后，他目前“神志清醒”。

美国民主党参议员克里斯·墨菲 (Chris Murphy) 于 7 月在参议院拨款委员会就美国总统唐纳德·特朗普提出的国防部拨款请求举行的听证会上发表讲话。[图片：Eric Lee/路透社]

美国参议员克里斯·墨菲（Chris Murphy）是一位资深的民主党议员，他中风了，但据其高级助手称，他“意识清醒，精神矍铄”。

墨菲的幕僚长艾莉森·赫维特在一份声明中表示，墨菲周日仍在住院治疗，此前一天他因手臂麻木而就医。

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她说，他在约翰·霍普金斯医院（美国顶尖医院之一）接受治疗“效果很好”。

赫维特说：“医生们对他的康复进展感到鼓舞，他现在神志清醒，精神状态良好，我们乐观地认为他会完全康复。”

墨菲不会参加周二的中期选举，此次选举将决定哪个党派控制国会，但他被认为是 2028 年总统大选的潜在候选人。

墨菲是康涅狄格州的一名参议员，任职长达 20 年。他是参议院两个重要委员会的资深民主党成员：拨款委员会（决定美国政府资金的分配方式）和外交关系委员会。

墨菲于10月访问了中东，这是自2月份美以对伊朗发动战争以来，美国民主党人首次访问该地区。

他一直强烈批评美国总统唐纳德·特朗普和伊朗战争，并承诺如果民主党人在周二赢得参议院，他们将停止为这场战争提供资金。

他指责美国国防部在他上个月访问卡塔尔期间拒绝他进入美军基地，并承诺如果民主党赢得参议院，将调查特朗普及其家人涉嫌的腐败行为。

特朗普表示，得知墨菲中风的消息，他“非常惊讶”，并补充说“没有人希望发生这种事”。