Chinese espionage As a result of
Chinese espionage at American universities, Murphy introduced the INFLUENCE Act, aimed at reducing the number of Chinese nationals attending American higher education institutions. While requiring higher education institutions to report gifts of $50,000 or more from a foreign source, Murphy's legislation also establishes interagency coordination on the enforcement of any violations exposing U.S. national security projects.
Joe Biden During the 2020 presidential campaign, Murphy claimed on Twitter that
Joe Biden "obviously is fighting the ravages of dementia." Questioned about the assertion by a reporter, Murphy, a urologist, said he was only echoing what the public thinks. "The majority of American people believe he does have dementia", he said. Murphy also claimed Biden had ‘so much plastic surgery’.
Kamala Harris In an October 2020 tweet that later was deleted, Murphy called Democratic vice presidential nominee
Kamala Harris a "walking disaster" who "was only picked for her color and her race". "My thoughts and prayers go out to the officer's family and the entire Capitol Police force. The death toll would have been worse if the assailant had an AR-15 instead of a knife." Murphy responded, "Would have been worse if they had been flying planes into the buildings also".
Texas v. Pennsylvania In December 2020, Murphy was one of 126 Republican members of the
House of Representatives to sign an
amicus brief in support of
Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the
U.S. Supreme Court contesting the results of the
2020 presidential election, in which Biden defeated Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked
standing under
Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state.
Objection during 2021 United States Electoral College vote count In January 2021, Murphy was one of several Republican members of the House, led by Representative
Mo Brooks of Alabama and Senator
Josh Hawley of Missouri, who declared that they would formally object to the counting of the electoral votes of five swing states won by Biden during the January 6 joint session. At least 140 House Republicans reportedly planned to vote against the counting of electoral votes, despite the lack of any credible allegation of an irregularity that would have affected the election, and the allegations' rejections by courts, election officials, the Electoral College, and others, Murphy said in a press release the day before the joint session, "I have been quite vocal in stating that to preserve the integrity of our elections, we must fight to ensure that every voice is heard, every legal vote is counted, and every count is confirmed", adding that he believed the actions of executive officials and judges in several states were "at best troubling and at worst seditious." After the
storming of the United States Capitol by a mob of rioters supporting Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, Murphy voted to agree with the objection to Pennsylvania's results.
Second impeachment of Donald Trump Murphy did not cast a vote on
Trump's second impeachment on January 13, 2021. He released a statement that he "strongly opposed" the impeachment but he would miss the vote because he was with his wife as she recovered from a surgery.{{cite news|last1=Flatoff|first=Libby|title=Talk of Nuclear Use in Gaza Draws Backlash == Personal life ==