By
Caitlin Yilek
Politics Reporter
Caitlin Yilek is a politics reporter at CBSNews.com, based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked for the Washington Examiner and The Hill, and was a member of the 2022 Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellowship with the National Press Foundation.
November 6, 2026 / 2:41 PM EST / CBS News
Washington — Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut was released from the hospital Friday after experiencing a stroke nearly a week ago, but will miss several weeks of votes as he continues his recovery at a rehabilitation center.
"I want to be direct with you, so here is my diagnosis," Murphy said in a statement. "Last Saturday afternoon, I felt something was not right with my body and called 9-1-1 out of an abundance of caution, and I'm glad I did."
Murphy, who is 53, 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.
Dr. Jose Suarez, the chief of neurosciences critical care at Johns Hopkins, where Murphy was hospitalized, said the senator experienced a small hemorrhagic stroke.
"He has shown tremendous progress, and at the current rate of improvement, we expect that he will make a full recovery following rehabilitation," Suarez said in a statement released by Murphy's office.
Murphy said he is taking his recovery seriously and will be spending several weeks at a rehabilitation center in order to "get back to work on the quickest timeline possible."
"This has been a scary experience for me and my family, and I appreciate the continued respect for our privacy," Murphy said. "As I'm working towards a full recovery, I am staying engaged with my team and colleagues remotely, and my staff continues to carry out our legislative priorities, serve constituents, and ensure the work of my office continues uninterrupted."
Murphy's office announced Sunday that he had numbness in his arm while at his son's hockey game and was taken to a local hospital, where it was discovered that he had a stroke. He was then transferred to Johns Hopkins.
The senator has been viewed as a possible contender for the White House in 2028.
In:
Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy hospitalized after suffering stroke
(02:19)
Source: CBS News · Caitlin Yilek
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