Murphy appointed chairman of foreign relations subcommittee

Although he’s a freshman senator, Chris Murphy, D-Conn., has been given the chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in charge of European affairs.

That means Murphy can hold hearings on anything that concerns U.S. allies in Europe. He replaces Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., who headed the panel in the last Congress.

“The United States and the European Union have the largest bilateral trade relationship in the world, and this subcommittee will provide me with opportunities to strengthen this trans-Atlantic relationship,” Murphy said in a statement.

Murphy also said he’d “work hard to update any export policies that do not meet the needs of our economy.”

“Some of our strongest Connecticut companies like Sikorsky, General Electric, and FuelCell Energy depend on our relationship with Europe to help them create jobs, and I look forward to representing their interests as chair of this subcommittee,” the senator said.

Murphy also has seats on the Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee and the Joint Economic Committee.