Tom Cotton is an American politician, a representative of the Republican Party, who was elected to the US Congress and Senate from the state of Arkansas. He gained popularity during his military service in Iraq when he wrote an open letter in which he accused journalists of the New York Times of publishing classified information. He was named one of the candidates for key positions of Secretary of Defense and Director of the CIA in the Donald Trump administration. And although Cotton did not receive these appointments, experts predict a bright political future for him.
Biography: childhood, education, early career
Thomas Bryant Cotton was born on May 13, 1977 in the small town of Dardanelles (with a population of about 5 thousand people), Arkansas. His mother, Avis Bryant, worked as a teacher and later took over as principal at her school. Father - Thomas Leonard Cotton - was the head of the health department in one of the counties of the state. Tom spent his childhood on his family's cattle farm, where seven generations of his ancestors grew up. He attended high school in the Dardanelles, and in his spare time played for the local basketball team as a center, which he received thanks to his unusually tall height (1.96 m).
Since childhood, Cotton dreamed of going to Harvard University, so he devoted a lot of time to his studies. Already in his school years, he was serious, disciplined and purposeful beyond his years, so his efforts were crowned with success. In 1995 Tom became a student at Harvard's John F. Kennedy Institute of Public Administration. In 1998 he received his BA with honors, the topic of his graduation work was the study of political essays "Federalist", written in the 18th century by a group of authors during the ratification of the US Constitution.
Cotton then enrolled in graduate school at Claremont University, but left in 1999 to attend Harvard Law School. After receiving his doctorate in 2002, he worked as a clerk in the US Court of Appeals for a year. Since 2003 he started practicing law.
Military career
After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Cotton wanted to serve in the army, took up physical training and the study of military history. After completing all study and work commitments in early 2005, he joined the US Army. A couple of months later he graduated from the Officer Candidate School, and in June 2005 he was promoted to second lieutenant in the infantry. Since May 2006, he served in Iraq as the commander of a 40-man airborne infantry platoon. By the end of the year he was promoted to first lieutenant. Upon returning to his homeland, he took command of a platoon of the 3rd US Infantry Regiment, which controls Arlington National Cemetery in Northern Virginia.
In 2006, a young lieutenant sent an open letter to the editor-in-chief of the New York Times, claiming that the newspaper's journalists violated the Espionage Act when they published details of the Bush administration's secret counter-terrorism program. In his opinion, the newspaper endangered the lives of American soldiers and civilians. Cotton's letter made it to the Internet and other media outlets. The higher authorities met with him, asking him to contact them next time with similar questions.
In October 2008, Tom served in Afghanistan with the NATO Support Mission to counter insurgency and restore peace. After 11 months, he returned home to the family ranch. In July 2010 he was transferred to the reserve of the US Army. Cotton has many military awards, including a Bronze Star for service in a war zone.
Political career
After completing his military service, Cotton worked briefly for a consulting firm until he made the decision in 2011 to run for the US House of Representatives. At that time, he was already a member of the "Growth Club" - an influential republican organization that allocates funds for election campaigns. Tom's candidacy was approved by members of the "Club" and many well-known politicians, including Senator John McCain. Cotton won the election on November 6, 2012, and took the oath of office in Congress on January 3, 2013. The main points of his activities in this position:
- supported a wage freeze for federal workers;
- opposed agricultural reform;
- criticized the Obama administration for its foreign policy towards Iran.
In November 2014, Cotton defeated Democrat Mark Pryor in the US Senate elections from Arkansas. He started working as a senator on January 6, 2015. Among other Republicans, he continued to obstruct President Obama and his associates. For example, he blocked candidates for the posts of US ambassadors to a number of countries. Then he wrote an open letter to the Iranian leadership, urging not to participate in negotiations with Obama, since he will not be able to fulfill the agreements reached on the nuclear program. In addition, Cotton supported President Trump when he was accused of using foul language against African countries. The senator said that he had not heard anything like it, although he was very close.
Tom Cotton's main political views:
- opposes the early release of those convicted of criminal offenses;
- maintains fluency in weapons;
- advocates repealing the Affordable Care Act passed under President Obama;
- Supports restricting immigration and protecting US borders from illegal immigrants;
- voted in favor of a law banning abortion for more than 20 weeks;
- did not support a decrease in interest rates on student loans;
- criticizes US foreign policy, demanding more decisive action against China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.
In 2016, there were rumors that President Trump might appoint Cotton as the new secretary of defense, but ended up choosing retired General James Mattis. Then, in November 2017, the senator was named the successor to Mike Pompeo as director of the CIA. As a result, he also did not receive this position. In any case, Tom Cotton is still at the very beginning of his political career and, having reached considerable heights at such a young age, has every chance to prove himself even more in the future.
Personal life
In March 2014, Tom Cotton married an attorney from Virginia, Anna Peckham. He announced this by posting a wedding photo on Instagram. The journalists were not provided with information about the place of the ceremony, any details of the wedding, or the biographical data of the bride. Immediately after the wedding, the couple announced that they would settle in Arkansas. In April 2015, their first child, Gabriel, was born, and at the end of 2016, their second son, Daniel.
