WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) released the following statement on the confirmation of Dr. Vivek Murthy as U.S. Surgeon General. Murthy received his M.B.A. and M.D. from Yale University.

Over the last 17 months, our country has been without a surgeon general -- all because of the political agenda of a handful of conservative political activists. It’s outrageous that, because of some common-sense statements Dr. Murthy made related to gun violence, we were left without one of our most visible and senior public health officials in the middle of the Ebola crisis. Today’s vote was a proud stand against the fear and confusion propagated by these extreme groups and their allies in Congress.

No one should be surprised that the individuals nominated by President Obama to serve in his administration share many of his views. The surprise is that some chose to put their political agenda ahead of public safety and public health in blocking Dr. Murthy’s nomination. The road to confirming Dr. Murthy has been long and bumpy, but today’s result is great news for the country and people in Connecticut. I’ve been a vocal advocate for Dr. Murthy for months. His qualifications and dedication in the service of improving public health in this country are admirable, and his Connecticut education doesn’t hurt either. We can move forward today knowing that our public health preparedness is stronger with Dr. Murthy at the helm.

We should also be grateful to the thousands of men and women, many of them health professionals, who made their voices heard in support of Dr. Murthy. Their advocacy for Dr. Murthy as our nation’s “top doc” is a huge reason why we can now call him Surgeon General.

Murphy recently wrote an op-ed in the Huffington Post expressing his support for Dr. Murthy’s nomination.