Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly announces cancer diagnosis

(CNN) — Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly has esophagus cancer, the longtime Virginia congressman announced in a statement Thursday.

“It was a surprise because, except for some intermittent abdominal aches and pains, I had no symptoms,” Connolly, 74, said. “I’m going to undergo chemotherapy and immunotherapy right away. Cancer can be tough. But so am I. I will attack this the only way I know how – with Irish fight and humor.”

Connolly represents Virginia’s 11th congressional district, an affluent and diverse area in northern Virginia and the suburbs of DC. He’s held the seat since 2009 and was reelected to his ninth term on Tuesday after handily defeating Republican Mike Van Meter, a Navy veteran and former FBI agent, in the heavily blue district.

Connolly sits on the House Foreign Affairs and Oversight committees. As a ranking Democratic member on a subcommittee on government innovation, Connolly is involved in government investments with federal contractors, a key component of the local economy he represents. He sponsored bills to change how the federal government buys technology and reduce the number of reports that federal agencies had to disclose.

Representing a diverse population, especially a large population of Asian Americans, Connolly is involved in directing international policy, sitting on subcommittees specifically focused on Asia and the Middle East. He has criticized the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, suggesting that the US “cannot continue to provide offensive weaponry to a government if it refuses to respect the laws of war” but acknowledging that Israel faces significant threats from regional actors like Hamas and Hezbollah.

In November 2020, Connolly was elected president of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, where he has focused on strengthening the US presence within NATO.

Connolly is a strong critic of Donald Trump, voting to impeach the president-elect and denouncing his language against immigrants.

This story has been updated with additional details.

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