A pro-gun control fighter
Ten years of waiting and finally a success, at an unlikely time. Senator Chris Murphy, 48, felt immense relief after the adoption in Congress on June 25 of a text strengthening controls on the sale of firearms. The elected Democrat led this bipartisan effort – a rarity in American politics – in response to the racist massacre at a Buffalo supermarket that left ten dead, then the massacre at the school in Uvalde, Texas, in which nineteen children were killed.
“But what are we doing here? », launched Chris Murphy, moved, in the precincts of the Senate, after the tragedy. The senator has become a fierce advocate for legislative limits on the carrying of weapons since the tragedy that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton in 2012, in his state of Connecticut (26 dead). A fight against headwinds. On June 23, the Supreme Court upheld the right to carry a firearm outside the home, regardless of state.
A foreign policy expert
In 2013, Chris Murphy joined the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, where he quickly distinguished himself. He opposed the idea of US strikes in Syria against Bashar Al-Assad’s regime to eliminate its chemical weapons program. Barack Obama finally backed down. In December 2013, he also found himself on Maidan Square, in kyiv, on a stage alongside the Republican John McCain, to address the crowd of Ukrainian, pro-European demonstrators. From John McCain (died 2018), Chris Murphy learned how influential a senator can be in foreign policy. In 2015, he supported the signing of the Iran nuclear deal, while many fellow Democrats grimaced.
A theoretician hostile to endless wars
In a report published in 2017, titled “Rethinking the battlefield”, Chris Murphy recommended that American power should not be based exclusively on its military capabilities, but should invest massively – 50 billion dollars more – in its diplomacy. Wanting to distinguish themselves from “medieval view of the world” retained by Donald Trump, Chris Murphy spoke about crisis prevention and development aid, and warned against endless external wars, such as in Afghanistan. As early as 2007, Chris Murphy put political pressure on the private paramilitary company Blackwater, for its lucrative contracts and its role in Afghanistan, subcontracting from the United States.
A possible contender for the White House
Joe Biden and Chris Murphy have the same approach to foreign policy. That’s one of the reasons Murphy’s name had been floated as a possible secretary of state. Officially, Joe Biden intends to represent himself in 2024. The subject of his succession, within the Democratic Party, therefore remains a taboo, despite his 79 years. But Chris Murphy’s name has been around for years, even though he doesn’t enjoy the popularity of veteran leftist Bernie Sanders. If the victory is played in the center, he could apply for the nomination. Elected in his state at the age of 25, to the House of Representatives at 33 and to the Senate at 39, Chris Murphy has already experienced an impressive rise. How far ?