Republican Sen. Tom Cotton ‘Don’t fall for it’: Arizona congressman and former Marine who 'gets the same intel' as Tom Cotton warns some GOPers are 'exaggerating' the Iran threat SalonJanuary 23, 2021 Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas has accrued a resume tailor-made for a Republican politician: He leapt from a small-town Arkansas cattle farm to Harvard University and then Harvard Law School; he left a leading New York firm to join the military after George W. Bush's re-election; he was discharged after nearly eight years and two war-zone deployments as an Army captain and decorated hero — including two commendation medals, a Bronze Star and a Ranger tab.