[4] After completing his residency in urology and renal transplantation at the University of Kentucky, Murphy and his wife settled in Greenville, North Carolina, where he began his medical practice.

Murphy was appointed to the North Carolina General Assembly in November 2015 and served the 9th District of Pitt County, to finish the term of Brian Brown, who had resigned.

[15] Murphy introduced legislation that helped veterans get access to hyperbaric oxygen therapy as treatment for traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder.

[17][18] In 2019, Murphy announced his candidacy for the United States House of Representatives special election in North Carolina's 3rd congressional district to replace Walter B. Jones Jr., who died in office.

[26] According to his opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, Murphy suggests that DEI training is "dangerous everywhere" and that it will lead to "future physicians less qualified to meet patients’ needs.

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.

[31] In an October 2020 tweet that later was deleted,[32] Murphy called Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris a "walking disaster" who "was only picked for her color and her race".

[34] Murphy was among 11 co-signers of a letter criticizing his alma mater, Davidson College, for recently removing a requirement that its president and most trustees be Christian.

In a May 2021 email to alumni from an official-looking address, the group said Davidson had strayed from its religious roots and "wandered into the realm of political and social activism.

[citation needed] 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 United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Biden defeated Trump.

[36][37] 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.

"[46][47] 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.