Since 2015, Thomas Bryant Cotton, an American attorney, politician, and former military officer, has held the position of junior United States senator from Arkansas. From 2013 to 2015, he was a Republican Party member representing the United States in the House of Representatives.
Cotton defeated two-term Democratic incumbent Mark Pryor to become the U.S. representative for Arkansas’s 4th congressional district in 2012 and to the Senate at the age of 37 in 2014.
Early Life and Education of Senator Tom Cotton
Thomas Bryant Cotton was born in Dardanelle, Arkansas, on May 13, 1977. His mother, Avis (née Bryant) Cotton, was a middle school principal in their district and his father, Thomas Leonard “Len” Cotton, was a district supervisor for the Arkansas Department of Health.
Cotton was raised on the family cattle property in rural Arkansas, where his ancestors had resided for seven generations. Attending Dardanelle High School, he participated in local and regional basketball tournaments; at 1.96 meters (6 feet 5 inches) in height, he was frequently required to play center.
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Cotton was granted admission to Harvard College subsequent to her high school graduation in 1995. He concentrated in government at Harvard and frequently expressed dissenting views from the editorial board of The Harvard Crimson, which was predominately dominated by liberals. Cotton discussed “sacred cows” such as affirmative action in his writings. He earned his A.B. magna cum laude in 1998, following a remarkably brief three-year academic pursuit. The subject of Cotton’s senior thesis was The Federalist Papers.
Cotton, who graduated from Harvard College in 1998, was granted admission to Claremont Graduate University’s master’s program. He enrolled at Harvard Law School in 1999, citing academic life as “too sedentary” as the reason for his departure in 1999. He obtained his Juris Doctor degree in 2002.
Recent Controversy Against Tom Cotton
After inquiring whether Singaporean TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew had “ever been a member of the Chinese Communist Party,” Tom Cotton has been subject to extensive criticism.
Cotton, R-Ark., exerted pressure on Chew as he testified alongside the CEOs of Meta, X, Discord, and Snap before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on child safety online. Legislators are grappling with mounting pressures to regulate social media.
“Have you previously affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party?” Cotton inquired.
Chew responded, “I am Singaporean, Senator.” Cotton subsequently inquired, “Have you ever maintained an affiliation or association with the Chinese Communist Party?”
Chew, who resides in Singapore with his American wife and children, replied, “No, Senator. “I am Singaporean once more!”
Diving Inside the Personal Life of Tom Cotton
In 2014, Cotton wed lawyer Anna Peckham. They are parents to two kids. Among his favorite writers, according to Cotton, are Walter Russell Mead, Robert D. Kaplan, Henry Kissinger, Daniel Silva, C. J. Box, and Jason Matthews.
Based in part on his time as an officer in that unit, Cotton wrote a book about the function of the Old Guard at Arlington National Cemetery that was published in 2019.