Biography
Tom Cotton represents the Fourth Congressional District of Arkansas in the United States House of Representatives. He is serving his first term in the House and sits 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 occurred 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.
Tom and his wife Anna reside in Dardanelle.