Gregory Francis Murphy (born March 5, 1963) is an American politician and urologist representing North Carolina’s 3rd congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2019. He served as a representative in the North Carolina General Assembly from 2015 to 2019.[2][3]

Early life and education

Murphy was raised in Raleigh, North Carolina, and attended Needham B. Broughton High School.[4] After high school, he attended Davidson College as an Edward Crosland Stuart Scholar. He then completed medical school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he graduated as a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society.[1]

After completing his residency in urology and renal transplantation at the University of Kentucky, Murphy and his wife settled in Greenville, North Carolina, where he began his medical practice.[1][5]

Medical career

Murphy has traveled as a medical missionary. When he was 20 years old, he spent a summer in Bihar, India, working in a Catholic leprosy hospital.[6] Murphy performed medical missionary work in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake.[7]

Murphy served as president of a medical practice and also as Chief of Staff of Vidant Medical Center. He was a member of the faculty at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University and served as Davidson College Alumni President from 2015 to 2017 while also serving on the board of trustees.[1][8]

In 2017, Murphy received a Distinguished Leadership Award from the American Association of Clinical Urologists.[9]

North Carolina General Assembly

Elections

Murphy was appointed to the North Carolina General Assembly in November 2015 and served the 9th District of Pitt County, to finish the term of Brian Brown, who had resigned.[10]

On November 8, 2016, he was elected to the seat, defeating Brian Farkas with 22,540 votes (57.52%) to Farkas’s 16,648 (42.48%).[11]

Murphy was reelected in 2018, defeating Kristoffer (Kris) Rixon.[12]

Tenure

During his second term in the General Assembly, Murphy served as Senior Chair of Health Policy and championed several health care initiatives.[1] In 2017, he introduced the STOP Act (Strengthen Opioid Misuse Prevention Act), North Carolina’s first major legislative initiative to confront the opioid epidemic.[13] Murphy then introduced the HOPE Act, which helped law enforcement curtail drug trafficking.[14] These two initiatives, along with other interventions, were credited[by whom?] with reducing North Carolina’s opioid overdose deaths for the first time in over a decade.[15]

Murphy introduced legislation that helped veterans get access to hyperbaric oxygen therapy as treatment for traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder.[16] After the deaths of three newborns in eastern North Carolina, he introduced legislation to improve birthing standards for birth centers in North Carolina.[17][18]

State legislative committees

Standing or Select CommitteeStatus
Alcoholic Beverage ControlMember
AppropriationsVice-chairman
Appropriations, Health and Human ServicesChairman
Education – UniversitiesMember
Energy and Public UtilitiesMember
HealthChairman
Health Care ReformMember
House Select Committee on Disaster ReliefMember
InsuranceMember

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2019 special

In 2019, Murphy announced his candidacy for the United States House of Representatives special election in North Carolina’s 3rd congressional district to replace Walter B. Jones Jr., who died in office. Murphy won the runoff on July 9, 2019, against pediatrician Joan Perry, 59.7% to 40.3%.[19] In the September 10 general election, he defeated former Greenville Mayor Allen M. Thomas, 61.7% to 37.5%.[20]

2020

In 2020, Murphy was unopposed in the Republican primary for his seat.[21] He won the general election over Democratic nominee Daryl Farrow with 63.5% of the vote.[22]

Committee assignments

For the 118th Congress:[23]

Caucus memberships

For the 118th Congress:[23]

Bills and amendments introduced in congress

Embracing anti-Discrimination, Unbiased Curricula, and Advancing Truth in Education (EDUCATE) Act

On March 19, 2024, Greg Murphy introduced a bill to the 118th Congress that would amend the Higher Education Act of 1965. The amendment would ban graduate medical schools with diversity, equity and inclusion training and offices from receiving any federal funds.[26]

According to his opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, Murphy suggests that DEI training is “dangerous everywhere” and that it will lead to “future physicians less qualified to meet patients’ needs.”[27]

Political positions

Chinese espionage

As a result of Chinese espionage at American universities, Murphy introduced the INFLUENCE Act, aimed at reducing the number of Chinese nationals attending American higher education institutions. While requiring higher education institutions to report gifts of $50,000 or more from a foreign source, Murphy’s legislation also establishes interagency coordination on the enforcement of any violations exposing U.S. national security projects.[28]

Joe Biden

During the 2020 presidential campaign, Murphy claimed on Twitter that Joe Biden “obviously is fighting the ravages of dementia.”[29] Questioned about the assertion by a reporter, Murphy, a urologist, said he was only echoing what the public thinks.[30] “The majority of American people believe he does have dementia”, he said.[31]

Kamala Harris

In an October 2020 tweet that later was deleted,[32] Murphy called Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris a “walking disaster” who “was only picked for her color and her race”.[32]

Controversial 9/11 tweet

Murphy was condemned for a tweet directed at Representative Ilhan Omar, a Muslim.

“Heartbroken to learn another CP was killed while protecting the Capitol”, Omar wrote after an April 2 incident.[33] “My thoughts and prayers go out to the officer’s family and the entire Capitol Police force. The death toll would have been worse if the assailant had an AR-15 instead of a knife.” Murphy responded, “Would have been worse if they had been flying planes into the buildings also”.[34]

Davidson College controversy

Murphy was among 11 co-signers of a letter criticizing his alma mater, Davidson College, for recently removing a requirement that its president and most trustees be Christian. In a May 2021 email to alumni from an official-looking address, the group said Davidson had strayed from its religious roots and “wandered into the realm of political and social activism.”[35]

In a follow-up message titled “Unauthorized Davidson Alumni Email”, Davidson’s alumni office said it “did not authorize the release of alumni email addresses, the use of our name or the contents of the email.” It said its IT staff was investigating and “taking this matter very seriously”.[citation needed]

Texas v. Pennsylvania

In December 2020, Murphy was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Biden defeated Trump.[36][37] The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state.[38][39][40]

Objection during 2021 United States Electoral College vote count

In January 2021, Murphy was one of several Republican members of the House, led by Representative Mo Brooks of Alabama[41][42] and Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri,[43] who declared that they would formally object to the counting of the electoral votes of five swing states won by Biden during the January 6 joint session.[41][42][44] The objections would then trigger votes from both houses.[44]

At least 140 House Republicans reportedly planned to vote against the counting of electoral votes, despite the lack of any credible allegation of an irregularity that would have affected the election, and the allegations’ rejections by courts, election officials, the Electoral College, and others,[41] and despite the fact that almost all of the Republican objectors had “just won elections in the very same balloting they are now claiming was fraudulently administered”.[45]

Murphy said in a press release the day before the joint session, “I have been quite vocal in stating that to preserve the integrity of our elections, we must fight to ensure that every voice is heard, every legal vote is counted, and every count is confirmed”, adding that he believed the actions of executive officials and judges in several states were “at best troubling and at worst seditious.”[46][47]

After the storming of the United States Capitol by a mob of rioters supporting Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, Murphy voted to agree with the objection to Pennsylvania’s results.[48][49]

Second impeachment of Donald Trump

Murphy did not cast a vote on Trump’s second impeachment on January 13, 2021.[50][51] He released a statement that he “strongly opposed” the impeachment but he would miss the vote because he was with his wife as she recovered from a surgery.[51]

Abortion and rape

In June 2022, Murphy tweeted and two hours later deleted a comment regarding the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the case of rape: “no one forces anyone to have sex.” According to the CDC, nearly one in five women is a victim of rape or attempted rape in her lifetime, and many men are raped as well.[52][53]

Electoral history

North Carolina 3rd Congressional District Special Republican Primary, 2019[54]
PartyCandidateVotes%
RepublicanGreg Murphy 9,530 22.51
RepublicanJoan Perry 6,536 15.44
RepublicanPhil Shepard5,10112.05
RepublicanMichael Speciale4,0229.50
RepublicanPhil Law3,6908.72
RepublicanEric Rouse3,2587.70
RepublicanJeff Moore2,2805.39
RepublicanFrancis X. De Luca1,6703.95
RepublicanCeleste Cairns1,4673.47
RepublicanChimer Davis Clark Jr.1,0922.58
RepublicanMichele Nix9152.16
RepublicanGraham Boyd8972.12
RepublicanPaul Beaumont8051.90
RepublicanMike Payment5371.27
RepublicanDon Cox2510.59
RepublicanKevin Baiko1710.40
RepublicanGary Ceres1080.26
Total votes42,330 100.0
North Carolina 3rd Congressional District Special Run-off Republican Primary, 2019[55]
PartyCandidateVotes%
RepublicanGreg Murphy 21,481 59.65
RepublicanJoan Perry14,53040.35
Total votes36,011 100.0
North Carolina 3rd Congressional District Special Election, 2019[56]
PartyCandidateVotes%
RepublicanGreg Murphy 70,407 61.74
DemocraticAllen M. Thomas42,73837.47
ConstitutionGreg Holt5070.44
LibertarianTim Harris3940.35
Total votes114,046 100.0
North Carolina 3rd Congressional District General Election, 2020[22]
PartyCandidateVotes%
RepublicanGreg Murphy (incumbent) 227,462 63.5
DemocraticDaryl Farrow131,01136.5
Total votes358,473 100.0
North Carolina 3rd Congressional District Republican Primary, 2022[57]
PartyCandidateVotes%
RepublicanGreg Murphy (incumbent) 50,123 75.7
RepublicanTony Cowden9,33214.1
RepublicanEric Earhart3,2744.9
RepublicanGeorge Papastrat1,7892.7
RepublicanBrian Michael Friend1,6982.6
Total votes66,216 100.0
North Carolina 3rd Congressional District General Election, 2022
PartyCandidateVotes%
RepublicanGreg Murphy (incumbent) 166,520 66.9
DemocraticBarbara Gaskins82,37833.1
Total votes247,898 100.0

References

  1. ^ a b c d e “About | Congressman Greg Murphy”. gregmurphy.house.gov. Retrieved 2023-08-02.
  2. ^ “Candidate Q&A: Greg Murphy, state House 9”. Reflector. 24 October 2018. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  3. ^ “North Carolina General Assembly-Representative Gregory F. Murphy”. Archived from the original on 2017-12-25. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  4. ^ “1981 History”. www.nbhs1981.com. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  5. ^ Grand Rounds in Urology https://grandroundsinurology.com/author/gmurphy/
  6. ^ “Greg Murphy, U.S. Representative for North Carolina – The Presidential Prayer Team”. 2023-04-13. Retrieved 2023-08-02.
  7. ^ Staff, Reflector (2 January 2011). “2010 was a year of change”. Reflector. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  8. ^ “Board of Trustees – Davidson College – Acalog ACMS™”. catalog.davidson.edu. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  9. ^ “10th Annual AACU State Network Advocacy Conference”.
  10. ^ “Greenville doctor tapped for open NC House seat”. newsobserver. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
  11. ^ “North Carolina 9th District State House Results: Greg Murphy Wins”. The New York Times. 2017-08-01. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  12. ^ “North Carolina Election Results (Published 2018)”. The New York Times. 2018-11-06. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  13. ^ “House Bill 243 / SL 2017-74 (2017-2018 Session) – North Carolina General Assembly”. www.ncleg.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  14. ^ “Heroin and Opioid Prescription and Enforcement (HOPE) Bill | North Carolina Medical Society”. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  15. ^ Abuse, National Institute on Drug (2020-04-03). “North Carolina: Opioid-Involved Deaths and Related Harms”. www.drugabuse.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  16. ^ “House Bill 50 / SL 2019-175 (2019-2020 Session) – North Carolina General Assembly”. www.ncleg.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  17. ^ WRAL (2019-04-16). “Cary birthing center tied to newborn deaths closing”. WRAL.com. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  18. ^ “House Bill 575 (2019-2020 Session) – North Carolina General Assembly”. www.ncleg.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  19. ^ Barron-Lopez, Laura (July 9, 2019). “Freedom Caucus-backed Murphy wins North Carolina runoff”. Politico. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  20. ^ “Gregory Murphy”. Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  21. ^ “Live: North Carolina State Primary Election Results 2020”. The New York Times. 3 March 2020. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  22. ^ a b “North Carolina Election Results: Third Congressional District”. New York Times. 3 November 2020.
  23. ^ a b “Committees and Caucuses”. Congressman Greg Murphy. 2021-01-03. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  24. ^ “Membership”. Republican Study Committee. 2017-12-06. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  25. ^ “Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute”.
  26. ^ Wallace, Danielle (2024-03-19). “House Republicans to introduce bill ending federal funding for medical schools with DEI, ‘race-based mandates’. Fox News. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  27. ^ Goldfarb, Greg Murphy and Stanley. “Opinion | Ban DEI Quackery in Medical Schools”. WSJ. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  28. ^ Murphy, Gregory (2020-07-29). “Text – H.R.7842 – 116th Congress (2019-2020): INFLUENCE Act”. www.congress.gov. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  29. ^ @RepGregMurphy (August 5, 2020). “So sad that we have a Candidate who…” (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  30. ^ “Fact check: NC’s Greg Murphy on Joe Biden and dementia – TodayHeadline”. 23 August 2020.
  31. ^ “Fact check: NC’s Greg Murphy on Joe Biden and dementia | Raleigh News & Observer”. Archived from the original on 2020-10-01.
  32. ^ a b “NC Congressman Murphy Tweets Harris Picked for Color, Race”. 8 October 2020.
  33. ^ “GOP Rep. Greg Murphy slammed for invoking 9/11 while tagging Ilhan Omar in deleted tweet”. Newsweek. 4 April 2021.
  34. ^ “Republican congressman condemned over Islamophobic tweet to Ilhan Omar”. TheGuardian.com. 5 April 2021.
  35. ^ “Uproar at Davidson over alumni email”.
  36. ^ “List: The 126 House members, 19 states and 2 imaginary states that backed Texas’ challenge to Trump defeat”. The Mercury News. Bay Area News Group. December 15, 2020.
  37. ^ Blood, Michael R.; Riccardi, Nicholas (December 5, 2020). “Biden officially secures enough electors to become president”. AP News. Archived from the original on December 8, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  38. ^ Liptak, Adam (2020-12-11). “Supreme Court Rejects Texas Suit Seeking to Subvert Election”. The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  39. ^ “Order in Pending Case” (PDF). Supreme Court of the United States. 2020-12-11. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  40. ^ Diaz, Daniella. “Brief from 126 Republicans supporting Texas lawsuit in Supreme Court”. CNN. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  41. ^ a b c Tapper, Jake (December 31, 2020). “At least 140 House Republicans to vote against counting electoral votes, two GOP lawmakers say”. CNN.
  42. ^ a b Fandos, Nicholas (December 15, 2020). “Defying Trump, McConnell Seeks to Squelch Bid to Overturn the Election”. The New York Times.
  43. ^ Brockell, Gillian (January 5, 2021). “The senators who were expelled after refusing to accept Lincoln’s election”. The Washington Post. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  44. ^ a b Potter, Trevor (December 17, 2020). “No, Jan. 6 isn’t another chance for Trump to reverse the election”. The Washington Post.
  45. ^ Broadwater, Luke (January 2, 2021). “Pence Welcomes Bid to Overturn Biden’s Election as Republican Senators Join”. The New York Times. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  46. ^ Murphy, Greg (5 January 2021). “Murphy Objecting to Electoral College Certification”. Congressman Greg Murphy. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  47. ^ “NC Rep. Greg Murphy announces intention to object to Electoral College votes”. WBTW. 5 January 2021. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  48. ^ Yourish, Karen (January 7, 2021). “The 147 Republicans Who Voted to Overturn Election Results”. The New York Times.
  49. ^ Murphy, Brian (January 7, 2021). “How NC’s delegation in Congress voted on objections to election certification”. The News and Observer.
  50. ^ Cai, Weiyi (13 January 2021). “Impeachment Results: How Democrats and Republicans Voted”. The New York Times. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  51. ^ a b Johnson, Sharon (13 January 2021). “Congressman Greg Murphy misses vote, but opposes Trump impeachment”. WITN. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  52. ^ The Charlotte Observer, NC Republican hits a shameful low in justifying Supreme Court abortion ruling,” June 27, 2022 [1]
  53. ^ ProPublica, “Deleted Tweets from Greg Murphy, R-NC”
  54. ^ “04/30/2019 UNOFFICIAL LOCAL ELECTION RESULTS – STATEWIDE”. North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  55. ^ “07/09/2019 UNOFFICIAL LOCAL ELECTION RESULTS – STATEWIDE”. North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  56. ^ “09/10/2019 OFFICIAL LOCAL ELECTION RESULTS – STATEWIDE”. North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  57. ^ “05/17/2022 OFFICIAL LOCAL ELECTION RESULTS – STATEWIDE”. North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved May 22, 2022.

External links

North Carolina House of Representatives
Preceded by

Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives
from the 9th district

2015–2019
Succeeded by

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from North Carolina’s 3rd congressional district

2019–present
Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by

United States representatives by seniority
290th
Succeeded by