I speak today in recognition of the bravery, courage, and valor of nearly 9,000 men and women in the Arkansas National Guard. Day in and day out, the heroes of our National Guard protect our communities and our homeland, stand at the ready to respond to natural disasters, and defend our freedom around the world. Their work is having a huge impact on many fronts. In Little Rock, our National Guardsmen recently participated in the Pentagon’s largest unclassified cyber defense exercise, known as... Read More

Mr. President, I speak today in support of Mr. Jay Clayton’s nomination to be the next Director of National Intelligence. Earlier this month, Mr. Clayton appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee, where he answered hundreds of written questions for the record and provided detailed testimony on his approach to serving in this new role. As part of these discussions, Mr. Clayton assured the committee he would assist our efforts to return the Office of the Director of National Intelligence... Read More

Good morning. This hearing will come to order. I want to welcome all of you to today’s hearing on the nomination of Mr. Jay Clayton to be the Director of National Intelligence. Before we begin, I would also like to recognize the devastating loss we suffered over the weekend, and, on behalf of this committee, pay tribute to our former colleague, Lindsey Graham. Though Lindsey didn’t serve on the Intelligence Committee, as a former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he was part of our... Read More

Lindsey Graham was a self-made American original. Born in central South Carolina, Lindsey grew up in a room behind his parent’s bar and pool hall where he worked to help the family make ends meet and earned the nickname “Stinkball” from his patrons because of his sense of humor and his irrepressible nature and his rascal streak as he called it. I saw that in my first experience with Lindsey Graham. I traveled with him and Senator McCain to the Munich Security Conference in 2013 as a brand-new... Read More

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence was formed after the 9/11 attacks, understandably to try to address some of the failures that led to those attacks. Unfortunately, I think we can now assess a couple of decades on, that it is something of a failed experiment itself. I remember my first days on the Intelligence Committee, when I sat far down the daises from the distinguished Vice Chairman, and an ODNI aide came in to brief us about a new fusion cell they had created in the fight... Read More

Mr. President, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, also known as FISA, is a critical national security tool. Well over half of every item in the president's daily brief is derived from Section 702. It has stopped terrorist attacks. It's stopped the flow of deadly drugs into our country. It's protected our troops overseas. It's allowed us to rescue troops overseas. Regrettably, the Democrats, led by the two minority leaders, are going to allow this critical authority to... Read More

Mr. President, reserving the right to object, and I will object. First, let me just set the context here. The senator from Oregon has always expressed hardcore ideological opposition to Section 702, which a large majority of the Senate and the House, under Democratic and Republican hands, across Democratic and Republican administrations, has always deemed a vital national security tool. In fact, to the best of my knowledge, the senator from Oregon has never once voted to extend Section 702.... Read More

Today, I urge my Senate colleagues to vote to confirm the nomination of the Honorable John Thomas Shepherd to the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas. Throughout his career, Judge Shepherd has worked to uphold the rule of law, preserve public safety, and keep crime out of our state. Whether representing the people as a prosecuting attorney, presiding from the bench as a circuit judge, or practicing law in the private sector, Judge Shepherd has handled a wide range... Read More

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today delivered the below opening statement at the Intelligence Committee’s annual Worldwide Threat Assessment hearing. Below are his remarks as delivered. Senator Cotton: Good morning. I call this hearing to order. Welcome to the Senate’s annual Worldwide Threats Assessment hearing. Let me begin by welcoming our esteemed panel of witnesses: Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard; CIA Director John Ratcliffe; FBI Director... Read More

I’d like to take a moment up front to recognize the American heroes who have lost their lives in the line of duty as part of Operation Epic Fury. I extend my deepest condolences and offer my prayers to their families and loved ones. I also say with absolute confidence: these American heroes will not have given their lives in vain. For 47 years, Iran’s outlaw regime has waged a war of death, destruction, and terror on the United States, our friends, our allies, and indeed the civilized world. And... Read More

“One of the most despicable pieces of legislation,” an “attack on our sacred right to vote,” and “a voter suppression bill.” These are just some of the hysterical things that Democrats have said lately about the SAVE America Act. I disagree, and so do most Americans. In fact, 64 percent of adults say that the SAVE America Act is a good idea and will help ensure that only eligible citizens can vote in our elections. After all, only Americans should have a say in who runs our country. Voting in... Read More

As I mentioned, the nominee has previously appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee, and our Lieutenant General Rudd has previously testified for his nomination at the Armed Services Committee. Our committee has sequential referral. Our goal for this hearing is to consider the nominee’s qualifications and give members ample opportunity for thoughtful deliberation. General Rudd has already provided substantive, written responses to dozens of questions from this committee. Today,... Read More

Today is a great day in America. Nicolas Maduro, an indicted drug trafficker and illegitimate communist dictator who has the blood of hundreds of Arkansans and thousands of Americans on his hands, is behind bars in a prison in New York. Again, he was an illegitimate communist dictator in league with all of America’s enemies around the world. With the Venezuelan people crushed underneath his iron fist for years, Maduro turned the country into a crossroads and playground for the likes of Communist... Read More

I’m saddened to share that Norman Podhoretz, a towering figure of American letters and politics, passed away last night. Not many men truly change the course of history. Those who do usually do it through their actions, like General U.S. Grant’s brilliant military campaigns in the Civil War. Fewer still do it with a combination of words and actions, like Abraham Lincoln. Perhaps rarest of all are men like Norman Podhoretz, who change history with mere words. And what words they were. Norman was... Read More

Thank you, Chairman Grassley, Senator Durbin, and members of the Judiciary Committee. Good morning. I’m pleased to join Senator Boozman today to introduce a civil servant and a fellow Arkansan, Mr. David “Clay” Fowlkes. I’d first like to thank Clay for his many years of public service and for agreeing to continue to this service as the president’s nominee to be a United States District Judge for the Western District of Arkansas. I’d also like to thank his family who are joining him here today... Read More

In January of 1974, millions of Americans traveled to work and school in darkness. Commuter trains were delayed. Schoolchildren carried flashlights. Tragically, some of these kids were struck by cars and killed while walking to school in the dark. One woman from Long Island, speaking to The New York Times, summed up the black mood of the nation. “It’s the end,” she said. “I can’t cope anymore. … I’m just staying in bed.” What calamity had befallen our nation? Had Soviet Russia finally attacked... Read More

At long last, our friends in Israel have won the war by defeating the depraved Hamas savages that launched the heinous, unprovoked attack from Gaza on Oct. 7. After the most devastating assault on Jews since the Holocaust, which was followed by two years of fighting, suffering, and death, the living hostages are home, and a new day has dawned in the Middle East. Earlier this week, I joined my fellow Arkansans in rejoicing and thanking God for answering our prayers and bringing those hostages... Read More

Incredibly, the Democrats are here to condemn President Trump’s recent strikes against narco-terrorists operating in our backyard. Maybe they want to distract from the Schumer Shutdown by tying the president’s hands and siding with narco-terrorists who have the blood of hundreds of thousands of Americans on their hands. Whatever the reason, this would be foolhardy. If you think I’m exaggerating here, let me remind you of the kind of depraved savages we’re dealing with. Recall the Tren de Aragua... Read More

Good afternoon. This hearing will come to order. I’d like to welcome you all to today’s hearing to consider the nominations of Mr. Peter Metzger to be the assistant secretary for intelligence and analysis at the Department of the Treasury and Mr. Joshua Simmons to be the general counsel of the Central Intelligence Agency. I would like to remind all those in attendance that while you are welcome to observe today’s hearing, Vice Chairman Warner and I agree that we will not allow disruptions by the... Read More

Senator Cotton: When a criminal is convicted of a crime and locked away in prison, you would think that would put a stop to their illicit activity. Sadly, in too many tragic cases, criminals just continue their wicked ways behind bars. That’s because tens of thousands of contraband cellphones are smuggled into and throughout prisons, enabling convicted criminals to carry on with their criminal business as usual from behind bars. Contraband cellphones in prisons pose a severe threat to public... Read More