CT Sen. Murphy blocked from Middle East base, says administration 'giving its middle finger' to Congress

Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant on Oct 9, 2026

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In a rare move, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy says he was blocked from seeing a key American air base in the Middle East during an official Congressional trip.

A vocal critic of President Donald Trump’s administration and the Iran War, Murphy traveled overseas to get a first-hand look at the damage from the war that he says is being covered up by the administration.

Despite longtime precedents for Congressional delegations, Murphy says he was blocked from seeing the American military base in Qatar under Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Defense Department. Before the trip, Murphy had sent a letter to the leadership of the U.S. Central Command, known as CENTCOM, seeking permission for access to the Al Udeid Air Base that he described as “one of the biggest and most important facilities” in the entire Gulf region.

“I’ve been to the Middle East at least a dozen times as a member of Congress, and I’ve never been denied access to military facilities,” said Murphy, an outspoken member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “This is part of a coordinated, deliberate campaign by the Department of Defense to hide the consequences and the true costs of the Iran war.”

As the first Senate Democrat to visit the region since the war started on Feb. 28, Murphy said that he wanted to personally see the damage that has been done to the region after more than seven months of bombings. The American air base, which has as many as 10,000 troops, has come under attack repeatedly by Iran during the war.

The Pentagon has pushed back that Murphy knew the situation about travel restrictions before the trip began.

“Sen. Murphy’s office was informed before his trip to the Middle East that he would not receive Department of War support to access Al Udeid Air Base, consistent with the secretary of war’s directive on travel restrictions in the region ordered on March 3, 2026,” according to Military.com.

After leaving the Middle East, Murphy spoke in a Zoom call with reporters on Thursday about his talks with high-level officials in Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

“I’m glad I made the trip because I was able to see things and see damage that I wouldn’t have been able to see otherwise,” Murphy told reporters on the Zoom call. “But this is a really dangerous moment when the administration is giving its middle finger to the Congress, pretending as if we are totally irrelevant. And they can get away with that for the next few months because Republican leadership is not going to draw a line and require that we be able to see for ourselves the damage that’s been done overseas. But my belief and my hope is that a Democratic Congress and a Democratic Senate isn’t going to stand for this. If we have to, we will make it absolutely, explicitly clear in law that members of Congress have to get access to military bases.”

Murphy added, “I’m prepared in the next few days to draft language that would require DOD, under all circumstances, to let us see our bases for ourselves when we are overseas. I don’t have any illusions that’s going to pass between now and the end of the year, but that will be an important part of the discussion around an appropriations bill next year and the Defense Authorization Bill.”

During the trip, Murphy also met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as the most powerful person in Saudi Arabia.

“I’ve been a vocal critic of Saudi Arabia and the Crown Prince,” Murphy said. “But, I think it’s important to be here to disagree and be honest and candid about those disagreements. It’s important to recognize there are things we need to work on together: ending the war in Iran and a pathway to Palestinian statehood. We had an honest, provocative conversation, particularly about the Gulf countries’ decisions to invest in the Trump family. It’s important for the Crown Prince to hear not just from the Trump administration, but from people who want a different path.”

Besides Bin Salman, he also met with the emir of the state of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, along with a variety of business and academic leaders. The group traveled to Riyadh and Doha, among others.

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