Tom Cotton
- Previous profession
- Attorney; Management consultant
- Military service
- U.S. Army, 2005 to 2009
- First public office
- 2012Elected to the 4th District for the 113th Congress on November 6, 2012
- Years in public office
- 13
Confirmed from the official recordSource: Congressional Directory for the 119th Congress (2025-2026), February 20, 2026. We saved our copy on October 8, 2026.
What these lines mean
These lines come from this official’s entry in the Congressional Directory, which Congress publishes. Each member’s office supplies or approves its entry. We save our own copy and sort each part of the entry by fixed rules. No AI is used.
Previous profession lists the work the entry names outside public office, in the Directory’s own words. Public office here means an elected or appointed position, staff work for an elected official or a legislature, and party or campaign work.
Lifelong politician means: Congress’s biography lists no occupation outside public office. It also means the entry lists no military service. A person on our side confirms these words before they appear.
Years in public office counts elected and appointed positions only. Staff work and party work are left out. Each year counts once.
The saved record holds 297 recorded votes by Tom Cotton, from 2013 to 2026.
See Tom Cotton's page for the current Congress
This record covers the votes that passed a law: votes on passage, and votes on a House resolution that passed a law. Each Congress below lists the two apart. Votes on bills that did not become law are not included yet.
114th Congress, 2015 and 2016
20 Yes · 8 No · 4 Did not vote on 32 laws of this Congress.
What this member says about laws and orders
This section has two lists: statements in the official record, and excerpts from this member’s own press releases. Together they name 3 executive orders.
From the official record
Statements from the official record: Not checked yet. A statement appears here after a person reviews our account of the law or order it is about.
From this member’s press releases
From a secondary sourceThese are excerpts from press releases on this member’s official website that name a law or an executive order. We save a copy of each one.
3 excerpts
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Cotton to Wright: Democrat’s Undermining of Strategic Petroleum Reserve Threatens Higher Gas Prices
“Then, in January 2021, President Biden signed Executive Order 14008, which imposed a moratorium on new oil and gas leases on federal lands and offshore waters. This executive order constrained domestic production while the administration was draining the reserve.”
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Cotton to Bondi: Investigate Whether Sensitive American Data at Risk of Access by CCP
“If Airwallex is releasing sensitive information, that would implicate Executive Order 14117, prohibiting transactions that provide bulk sensitive personal data to countries of concern, including China.”
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Cotton to Lutnick: Chinese Networking Equipment Risks National Security
“This work is critical to our national security, and we commend President Trump’s Executive Order 13873 to allow the Commerce Department to prohibit transactions in our country that pose unacceptable risk to American national security.”
Member-requested spending
Member-requested spending: none found in the 4 laws read so far.
Laws read: Public Law 119-37, Public Law 119-74, Public Law 119-75, Public Law 119-86.
Campaign promises
Promises kept: Not checked yet
Not checked yetA person has not reviewed this member’s campaign promises yet. This is what we hold so far.
- Campaign website: www.tomcotton.com. The Federal Election Commission’s record of COTTON FOR SENATE, INC. gives this address.Confirmed from the official record
- 2 pages of www.tomcotton.com saved on October 8, 2026. 1 states positions on issues.From a secondary source
- 2 Internet Archive copies of www.tomcotton.com, the earliest captured November 3, 2020. We ask the Archive for the copy closest to election day, November 3, 2020.From a secondary source
Online ads
From a secondary sourceThese are records from public ad libraries, for advertisers tied to this member. We show an ad only after we save our own copy of it.
COTTON FOR SENATE, INC. Google Ads Transparency Center
Evidence for the tie: The library lists FEC committee number C00499988 for this advertiser, and the FEC committee file names this member as that committee’s candidate.
The library lists 33 ads by this advertiser since January 3, 2025.
We have not saved our own copy of these 33 ads yet, so this page shows none of them. Cause: Google’s data file carries no words, picture or video of the ad.
Read from Google Ads Transparency Center, its data file of October 7, 2026. Meta Ad Library: Not started. An ad counts when the library last shows it on or after January 3, 2025.
Who funds this member
Not checked yetWho funds this member: Not checked yet.
The FEC lists no principal campaign committee active in 2025 to 2026 for candidate number S4AR00103.
Reported stock trades
Not checked yetReported stock trades: Not checked yet.
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Where this comes from
Each vote comes from our saved copy of the official House or Senate roll call file. Open a law to see the file and its fingerprint.