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U.S. Senator from Arkansas

Tom Cotton

Republican · Arkansas

Army veteran and Harvard Law graduate, elected in 2014. Known as a foreign policy hawk and one of the Senate's most conservative members.

Record

Among the most conservative senators. Hawkish on foreign policy, authored controversial 2015 Iran letter. Strongly opposes immigration and supports maximum defense spending.

Legislative Record

Recently sponsored bills (8 on record)

  • S.5083 — Fiscal Sponsorship Transparency Act of 2026 (Introduced, Jul 22, 2026)
  • S.4984 — Restoration of Employment Choice for Adults with Disabilities Act (Introduced, Jul 15, 2026)
  • S.4939 — Countering CCP Act (Introduced, Jun 24, 2026)
  • S.4795 — FREEDOM Act (Introduced, Jun 16, 2026)
  • S.4764 — A bill to amend the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 to extend the authorities of title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, and for other purposes. (Introduced, Jun 11, 2026)
  • S.4760 — A bill to amend the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 to extend the authorities of title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, and for other purposes. (Introduced, Jun 11, 2026)
  • S.4729 — Biosecurity Smuggling Deterrence Act of 2026 (Introduced, Jun 10, 2026)
  • S.1705 — Chip Security Act (Introduced, May 8, 2025)

Notable votes

  • Voted Yea on S.Res. 817 — S. Res. 817 (Resolution Agreed to, Jul 30, 2026)
  • Voted Yea on S.Res. 817 — Motion to Invoke Cloture: S. Res. 817 (Cloture Motion Agreed to, Jul 29, 2026)
  • Voted Yea on H.R. 6644 — Motion to Invoke Cloture: Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 6644 with an Amendment (SA 5823) (Cloture Motion Agreed to, Jun 18, 2026)
  • Voted Yea on S. 2 — S. 2, As Amended (Bill Passed, Jun 5, 2026)
  • Voted Nay on S. 2 — Cortez Masto Amdt. No. 5463 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)
  • Voted Nay on S. 2 — Padilla Amdt. No. 5808 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)
  • Voted Nay on S. 2 — Gallego Amdt. No. 5813 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)
  • Voted Nay on S. 2 — Peters Amdt. No. 5763 (Amendment Rejected, Jun 5, 2026)

Recently cosponsored bills (12 on record)

  • S.4944 — American Energy and Mineral Infrastructure Act of 2026 (Introduced, Jul 28, 2026)
  • S.5024 — Stop PRC Economic Espionage Act of 2026 (Introduced, Jul 16, 2026)
  • S.5025 — Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026 (Introduced, Jul 16, 2026)
  • S.3332 — More Homes on the Market Act (Introduced, Jun 17, 2026)
  • S.1829 — STOP CSAM Act of 2025 (Introduced, Jun 15, 2026)
  • S.4787 — FEAT Act (Introduced, Jun 15, 2026)
  • S.4677 — SUSTAIN Act (Introduced, Jun 11, 2026)
  • S.4775 — Stopping Harmful and Outrageous Torts Act (Introduced, Jun 11, 2026)

Voting analysis

Tom Cotton chairs the Senate intelligence committee, and surveillance authority is also something he files legislation about — his bills include an extension of the foreign intelligence powers under title seven. The gavel and the filing cabinet agree with each other here, which is rarer on this site than it sounds.

2.3%
Votes against the Republican majority
216
Roll calls where a party majority formed
46 of 51
Rank among Senate Republicans, most defections first

One bill absorbed most of it

Three of his departures land on a single benefits bill, and all three are the same move: voting against amendments that his conference supported and that the chamber threw out anyway. The remaining two run the opposite way — a bill he voted to pass against his party, and a spending amendment he backed when it did not.

All 5 roll calls where Tom Cotton voted against the Senate Republican majority.
Roll callDateOutcomeTheir vote
H.R. 82
Crapo Amdt. No. 3331
On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3331 to H.R. 82 (No short title on file) · roll call 118		Dec 20, 2024Amendment RejectedNay (party: Yea)
H.R. 82
Cruz Amdt. No. 3360
On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3360 to H.R. 82 (No short title on file) · roll call 118		Dec 20, 2024Amendment RejectedNay (party: Yea)
H.R. 82
Paul Amdt. No. 3352
On the Amendment S.Amdt. 3352 to H.R. 82 (No short title on file) · roll call 118		Dec 20, 2024Amendment RejectedNay (party: Yea)
S. 3853
On Passage of the Bill S. 3853 · roll call 118		Mar 7, 2024Bill PassedYea (party: Nay)
H.R. 4366
Paul Amdt. No. 1347
On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1347 to S.Amdt. 1092 to H.R. 4366 (No short title on file) · roll call 118		Nov 1, 2023Amendment RejectedYea (party: Nay)

The Arkansas seats

Arkansas holds two Republican Senate seats, and Cotton is the one who leaves the conference position less frequently.

Among the 2 Republicans in the Arkansas delegation, the average rate of voting against the party majority is 3.4%. Tom Cotton is below that average at 2.3%.

What he legislates on

Armed forces and national security lead the classified subjects, which follows from the intelligence chairmanship. The bills are a mix of the ideological and the technical: transparency in fiscal sponsorship arrangements, restoring employment choice for adults with disabilities, a measure countering the Chinese Communist Party, an acronymic freedom bill, and the surveillance extension already mentioned.

Sponsored bills carry the Congressional Research Service's own subject classification. Tom Cotton's cluster into: Armed Forces and National Security (2), Crime and Law Enforcement (1), Energy (1), Foreign Trade and International Finance (1), Health (1), Labor and Employment (1).

578
Bills sponsored
1954
Bills cosponsored

Of the 8 most recent of those, 8 currently sit at Introduced.

Tenure and attendance

He reached Congress by way of the House in the middle of the last decade and moved to the Senate two years later. His absences are few.

First elected in 2013, now serving across 7 terms. Tom Cotton falls in the veteran cohort.

1.8%
Roll calls recorded as not voting
220
Roll calls eligible to vote on
4
Recorded as not voting

By the numbers

In the 119th Congress, Tom Cotton has 578 bills sponsored, 1954 cosponsored, 8 recent floor votes recorded.

Committee assignments

  • Joint Economic Committee
  • Senate Committee on Armed Services
  • Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
  • Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (Chairman)
  • Senate Committee on Armed Services: Airland
  • Senate Committee on Armed Services: Cybersecurity
  • Senate Committee on Armed Services: Emerging Threats and Capabilities
  • Senate Committee on Armed Services: Strategic Forces
  • Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Energy
  • Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Public Lands, Forests, and Mining

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