North Carolina Republican Rep. Greg Murphy revealed Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with a tumor at the base of his skull, but stressed that the prognosis is positive.
Murphy, 61, a doctor in Greenville, said he is scheduled to have the pituitary macroadenoma tumor, which is believed to be “benign,” removed.
“It is thought to be a benign tumor, however, given its size and location, and its subsequent ability to affect vital structures in the brain, I am scheduled to have it surgically removed,” he said in a statement.
“The prognosis is excellent, and I hope to be back to work full-time soon.”
When asked about a timeline for the procedure, Murphy’s office referred The Post back to his statement.
Murphy represents North Carolina’s 3rd congressional district, which is generally seen as a reliably red seat.
But the congressman’s forthcoming surgery comes as his party barely clings to control of the lower chamber with 217 seats to the Democrats’ 213.
It remains unclear how many votes he may miss because of the medical issue.
“As a physician, I have for the last 30 years, taken care of thousands and thousands of patients. It is now my turn to be one,” he said in his statement.
“I am blessed to have the supportive love of my wife Wendy and our entire family, as well as my incredible staff, in addition to the wonderful, amazing, and patriotic constituents.”
The congressman has served in the lower chamber since 2019 and was previously a lawmaker in North Carolina’s House of Representatives for four years.
Murphy, who chairs the Republicans’ Doctors Caucus, made waves last week for suggesting that from a “medical viewpoint,” President Biden was medicated on something during his boisterous State of the Union address in March.
“I was in the State of the Union address, and Joe Biden must have been jacked up on something that day, I absolutely believe that from a medical viewpoint,” he told Fox Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo last week.
The Old North State Republican did not specify what Biden, 81, may have taken but was adamant that the president was on something.
“I believe they gave him something to help him sustain the lights and sustain the vigor that he had,” Murphy said. “That’s not, that was not Joe Biden. I was in there. He screamed for two hours.”
North Carolina is widely regarded as one of the top battleground states for presidential candidates heading into the 2024 presidential election.
Former President Donald Trump is narrowly ahead of Biden there with a 5.4 percentage point lead, according to the latest RealClearPolitics aggregate of polling. Trump won the state in 2020.
