Tom Cotton

Tom Cotton junior United States Senator from Arkansas since January 3, 2015. committees include the Banking Committee, where he chairs the Economic Policy Subcommittee, the Intelligence Committee, and the Armed Services Committee, where he chairs the Air Land Power Subcommittee. Previously, he represented the Fourth Congressional District of Arkansas in the United States House of Representatives for one term, and sat on the Financial Services and House Foreign Affairs Committees. Born and raised on his family’s cattle farm in Yell County, Tom is a sixth generation Arkansan and a native of the congressional district he now represents. He graduated from Dardanelle high school, Harvard, and Harvard Law School. The 9/11 attacks occurring during Tom’s final year in law school, causing him to leave law after a clerkship with the U.S. Court of Appeals and a brief period in private practice to join the armed forces. Tom declined a commission as a JAG attorney and instead joined the United States Army as an Infantry Officer. Tom served nearly five years on active duty, completing two combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He served in Iraq with the 101st Airborne, where he led an infantry platoon in daily combat patrols. Tom’s military decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, and Ranger Tab. Between his two combat tours, Tom served as a platoon leader with The Old Guard at Arlington National Cemetery. He then served in Afghanistan as the operations officer for a Provincial Reconstruction Team. After leaving active duty and before Congress, Tom worked as a management consultant for McKinsey & Co. A Representative from Arkansas; born in Dardanelle, Yell County, Ark., May 13, 1977; A.B., Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., 1998; attended Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, Calif., 1998-1999; J.D., Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., 2002; United States Army, 2004-2009; clerk, U.S. Court of Appeals, 2002-2003; lawyer, private practice; management consultant; farmer; elected as a Republican to the One Hundred Thirteenth Congress (January 3, 2013-present).