Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy was barred from entering a U.S. military base in Qatar, the Connecticut lawmaker told reporters on Tuesday.
The senator is currently on a congressional delegation to the Middle East, where he’s met with key officials to discuss the ongoing Iran war.
During his visit, Murphy traveled to Riyadh, where he met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and to Qatar, where he met Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
“I want to see firsthand the impact of the Iran War, the damage it’s caused to our facilities in the region and how it’s harmed our relationships with partners in the region,” Murphy said in a news release.
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As part of his trip, Murphy hoped to visit Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest U.S. Air Force installation in the Middle East.
Reuters first reported that the senator was denied access to the base. The Pentagon also refused to set up a briefing for him on the war.
“This trip confirmed for me that there is an active, unprecedented, unconstitutional effort underway to hide the costs of this war and the implications of this war from Congress and the American people,” Murphy told reporters in Riyadh, according to the wire service.
“I’ve never encountered anything like this in my time in the Senate, and it’s part of a deliberate campaign of obfuscation that my Republican colleagues in Congress should demand an end to,” he added.
In an emailed statement, a senior Defense Department official told The Washington Sun that Murphy’s office was informed before his trip that he would not receive access to Al Udeid Air Base, citing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s March directive on travel restrictions in the area.
The Defense Department’s legislative affairs office communicated the decision to Murphy’s team, the official said.
“The Department applies the Secretary’s guidance evenly,” the official added.
The base has been repeatedly attacked in the midst of the ongoing conflict.
In March, a missile struck the base but did not cause any casualties, according to Qatar’sMinistry of Defense. In June 2025, U.S. Central Command announced that U.S. forces and their Qatari partners defended against an Iranian ballistic missile attack at the base.
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