Cotton has served as the junior senator from Arkansas since 2015. He is chair of both the Senate Intelligence Committee and Senate Republican Conference and is the third-ranking member of the Senate Republican leadership. Before his election to the Senate, Cotton represented Arkansas’s 4^th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representative from 2013 to 2015.

A Harvard Law School graduate, Cotton served nearly five years on active duty as a U.S. Army infantry officer (2005–2010), achieving the rank of Captain. He served combat tours in Iraq with the 101st Airborne and in Afghanistan with a Provincial Reconstruction Team, earning a Bronze Star.

In his introduction before Cotton’s UofL talk, Sen. Mitch McConnell praised the senator for his passion and dedication to his country. “Tom (Cotton) believes in America, and I don’t know anyone who’s done more to back it up,” McConnell said.

During the discussion held at Chao Auditorium and , moderator and McConnell Center Director Gary Gregg asked Cotton questions on a wide range of topics including his prominent role in the Senate Intelligence Committee, the current military operation in Iran, and the threat of China, as well as advice for students aspiring to politics.  

Cotton said one of his most important priorities as a legislator is leading the Senate Intelligence Committee which plays an important, but largely quiet role in overseeing all the major intelligence agencies, notably the FBI, CIA and NSA.

As chair of the committee and as a military veteran, Cotton said he has prioritized supporting and advocating for front line intelligence officers to empower them to do their jobs with utmost effectiveness.

“In my experience, it’s important to push them to use aggressively all the authority we’ve given them,” Cotton said. “I believe since becoming chairman, I’ve worked with these intelligence chiefs, and they’ve done a great job getting back to their traditional mission of spying on bad guys to help keep the country safe.”

In response to a question about the current military operation in Iran, Cotton noted, “Iran was a threat that was grave, growing and gathering. Our objective is to degrade Iran’s military to the point that they can no longer have a nuclear program or develop an intercontinental missile defense, which ultimately threatens troops and U.S. citizens,” he said. Cotton said that according to his everyday intelligence briefings about the Iran war, the United State is on time or ahead of schedule on every military line of effort.

Turning to another threat on the world stage, Cotton, who published a book on China in 2025, said that America needs to remain mindful that “China remains the most serious threat to our way of life – they are the one country in the world with a plausible path and ambition to replace America as the world’s dominant superpower in military and economy,” Cotton said. “I’ve done a lot of work in the Senate to ensure our military and intelligence agencies are postured to deter China.”  

Turning from China closer to home, Cotton encouraged McConnell Scholars and other UofL students who hold political ambitions. “It’s not hard to advance in politics – showing up is the most important part,” he advised. “Just find a candidate that inspires you and raise your hand, say ‘I’m here,’ and just put in the effort and the hard work.”