When U.S. Senator Chris Murphy took the oath at noon on Thursday, the 39-year-old became the youngest member of the Senate.
Murphy defeated Linda McMahon in the general election and is filling the seat that Sen. Joe Lieberman.
Murphy served six years in the U.S. House, so he is no stranger to how Washington works.
“I’ve been proud to work for the 41 towns of the Fifth District in the House of Representatives, and I’m going to bring the same passion and work ethic to my job in the Senate,” Murphy said in a statement.
“I’m going to fight to strengthen Connecticut’s economy—with the right policies coming from Washington, there is no reason why Connecticut can’t grow jobs in science, technology, manufacturing, and defense “
He also said he’ll be a leader in health care law and fighting against gun violence,
“And I’m going to be a leading voice in the national conversation to end the kind of gun violence that shattered precious young lives and devastated a community in Newtown, Connecticut just three weeks ago,” Murphy said.
While Murphy is the youngest member of the 113th Congress, the youngest Senator in history is John Henry Easton of Tennessee. Despite the Constitutional requirement that Senators be at least 30, he was 28 when he took the oath on Nov, 16, 1818. You can learn more about how that happened on the United States Senate Web site.
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