Chris Murphy Receives Oath Of Office, Replaces Lieberman

From AP:

Chris Murphy has taken the oath of office to become Connecticut’s newest U.S. senator, replacing the retiring Joe Lieberman.

The Democrat on Thursday was escorted down the center aisle of the Senate by Sen. Richard Blumenthal to take the oath from Vice President Joe Biden. He later signed the Senate’s Oath Book, which contains the names of all senators.

Murphy told The Associated Press before the ceremony he was thrilled to walk with Blumenthal, calling him an example to his generation of public servants of someone to look up to and admire. Blumenthal now becomes the state’s senior senator. “Not only was he a big part of helping me get to this day, but I’m part of a generation of public servants in Connecticut who looked up to the example that Blumenthal set,” Murphy said. “It’s a real honor for me to be able to get sworn in today to represent the people of the state, but also do it next to somebody I’ve looked up to for a long time, Dick Blumenthal.”

Before taking the oath, Murphy tweeted: “About to step onto the Senate floor to be sworn in as CT’s next Senator. I’m honored to be sent here and ready to get to work for our state.”

The 39-year-old Murphy will be the youngest member of the Senate. He and his wife have two young sons.

Murphy, the former 5th District congressman, defeated Republican Linda McMahon in November. McMahon had run against Blumenthal two years ago and lost that race as well. The former wrestling executive spent a total of about $100 million of her own money on the two races combined.

Murphy was expected to sit at Lieberman’s desk in the Senate for the opening day of the session. But his desk will be moved elsewhere in the Senate based on his seniority. Murphy said he expects he will be ranked 91st or 92nd out of 100 senators. His time served in the U.S. House of Representatives will be counted toward his ranking in the Senate.