Murphy

New Democratic congressman and Columbia, Mo. native Scott Murphy has learned quickly that Capitol Hill can be a rough place.

Murphy, a former aide to governors Mel Carnahan and Roger Wilson, now represents New York state in Washington. Earlier this year, he won a special election to fill the seat vacated by Kirsten Gillibrand, who replaced Hillary Clinton in the Senate.

This week, he told Politico that being the fresh face in Congress isn’t always easy.

“I was speaking with a colleague of mine and walked into the Republican entrance with him to vote when a security officer tackled me,” said in an interview with Politico’s Anne Schroeder Mullins. “I thought it was amusing, but the security officer was pretty embarrassed.”

Though he may still have to keep his member ID badge visible, Murphy is no longer the lowest on the seniority chain in Congress. That distinction belongs to California Democrat Judy Chu, sworn in last week to the House seat left by Labor Secretary Hilda Solis