Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) announced Friday, November 6, that he will temporarily step away from Senate voting responsibilities while undergoing rehabilitation following a stroke suffered last week.

Murphy was discharged from Johns Hopkins Hospital on Friday and plans to spend several weeks at a rehabilitation center before returning to his congressional duties. The senator said the decision was intended to give him the time needed to recover fully and resume work as quickly as possible.

"In order to take my recovery seriously and get back to work on the quickest timeline possible, I will be spending several weeks at a rehabilitation center after being discharged from the hospital today," Murphy said in a statement.

The 52-year-old senator suffered a small hemorrhagic stroke on October 31, according to Dr. Jose Suarez, chief of Neurosciences Critical Care at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Suarez said Murphy has made significant progress since the medical emergency and that physicians anticipate a full recovery following rehabilitation.

"He has shown tremendous progress, and at the current rate of improvement, we expect that he will make a full recovery following rehabilitation," Suarez said.

Murphy's absence will keep Connecticut's Democratic senator away from upcoming Senate votes for several weeks as he focuses on his recovery.