WASHINGTON (AP) – The once low-profile Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania has agreed to attend a Democratic fundraiser in Boston on Friday, two weeks after creating a political firestorm with an emotional appeal for troops to be withdrawn from Iraq, Democratic Party officials said.

But Murtha’s staff sought Tuesday to downplay the significance of his trip, saying only that the congressman hopes to appear at the fundraiser while also visiting a cancer center named after the late Rep. Joe Moakley, D-Mass., who was a friend.

Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., is hosting the Boston event – a joint fundraiser between the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Nick Lampson, a former Texas congressman running against indicted Texas Rep. Tom Delay, said Cyndi Roy, spokeswoman for Massachusetts Democrats.

Roy said she learned Monday that Murtha would attend the event. Murtha is a decorated Vietnam combat veteran who has spent three decades in the House, and is the top Democrat on the House Appropriations defense subcommittee.

Brad Clemenson, Murtha’s district director, said they are working on the scheduling and, “It does look like he’ll be doing both events” in Boston.

Adrienne Elrod, a spokeswoman for the committee that works to get Democrats elected to the House, said “Murtha is a team player and we are grateful he is lending his hand to support Democratic efforts.”

The Boston Globe reported Tuesday that an invitation to the event asks donors to give or raise as much as $30,000 for Lampson’s campaign or the campaign committee.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee says on its Web site that the Boston fundraiser is one of a handful planned across the country to raise money for the committee and Lampson.

Ed Patru, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said Iraq is a losing issue for Democrats politically, and having Martha headline an event would only remind voters of that.

“Murtha may be considered a hero among Washington liberals, but almost every Washington Democrat voted against the proposal to withdraw, and this inability to craft a position on the issue among Washington Democrats spills over to their candidates,” Patru said.