{"id":2370149,"date":"2024-11-18T07:27:01","date_gmt":"2024-11-18T12:27:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tom-cotton-the-gops-next-senate-powerbroker-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-11-18T07:31:05","modified_gmt":"2024-11-18T12:31:05","slug":"tom-cotton-the-gops-next-senate-powerbroker-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tom-cotton-the-gops-next-senate-powerbroker-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Tom Cotton, the GOP&#8217;s next Senate powerbroker &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftom-cotton-the-gops-next-senate-powerbroker-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2370149&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) is poised to become a significant power player\u200c in Washington, D.C., as he transitions\u200d from a rank-and-file member to the third-ranked Republican in the Senate, taking over as \u200dGOP Conference chairman and \u2063chairing the \u2063Intelligence Committee. Cotton&#8217;s rise is attributed to a decade of strategic relationship-building\u2063 and a reputation\u2064 for decisive, often controversial positions on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/christian-non-profit-rejected-for-tax-exempt-status-by-irs-bibles-teachings-affiliated-with-the-republican-party\/\" title=\"Christian Non-Profit Rejected For Tax-Exempt Status By IRS: \u2018Bible\u2019s Teachings \u2026 Affiliated With The Republican Party\u2019\">national issues<\/a>. He <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/we-want-our-kids-to-be-kids-desantis-marks-end-of-legislative-session-as-year-of-the-parent\/\" title=\"\u2018We Want Our Kids To Be Kids\u2019: DeSantis Marks End Of Legislative Session As \u2018Year Of The Parent\u2019\">garnered strong support<\/a> from 35 of the 53 Republican senators during a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/after-trump-landslide-gop-senate-votes-for-business-as-usual\/\" title=\"After Trump Landslide, GOP Senate Votes For Business As Usual\">recent leadership election<\/a>, significantly outpacing\u2062 his\u2064 opponent, Sen.\u200d Joni Ernst (R-IA).<\/p>\n<p>Despite some policy disagreements, Cotton has maintained strong ties with former President Donald \u2064Trump and his allies, positioning himself\u2064 as\u200c a\u200c trusted\u2064 figure within the party. His \u2064leadership style \u2062is\u2064 characterized by effective messaging\u200d and a focus on internal consensus, allowing him to engage \u200bwith\u2064 both moderate and more extreme\u200b factions within the Republican Conference.\u2063 Cotton&#8217;s leadership will succeed current Conference\u2063 Chair Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), as the GOP prepares for a new era following long-time leader Mitch McConnell&#8217;s transition to\u2064 a more background role.<\/p>\n<p>The senator&#8217;s\u2064 approach, which includes\u200b selective media appearances and a tendency to\u2063 deflect questions from \u2063reporters, has been \u2062seen as a strategic choice that enhances \u2064his influence \u200bin shaping the \u2063party&#8217;s messaging and priorities.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Tom Cotton, the Senate GOP&rsquo;s next powerbroker<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1496530\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/tom-cotton\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Tom Cotton\">Tom Cotton<\/a> (R-AR) is about to transform from a rank-and-file <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/Republican\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Republican<\/a> into one of the most influential lawmakers in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Next year, the second-term senator will become the third-ranked Republican as Senate GOP Conference chairman after ousting a sitting leadership member and will assume the coveted <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3227117\/trump-ally-tom-cotton-head-senate-intelligence-committee-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"helm of the Intelligence Committee\">helm of the Intelligence Committee<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3223892\/president-elect-donald-trump-cabinet-picks-list\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong>TRUMP CABINET PICKS: WHO&rsquo;S BEEN TAPPED TO SERVE IN THE PRESIDENT-ELECT&rsquo;S ADMINISTRATION<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>But his rise to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-need-to-start-paying-attention-to-trump-supporters-kaylee-mcghee-white-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Democrats need to start \u2018paying attention\u2019 to Trump supporters: Kaylee McGhee White - Washington Examiner\">power didn&#038;rsquo<\/a>;t happen overnight. His pointed political takes, close ties to Trump-world, and his messaging strategy of selective <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">media<\/a> appearances but <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">marginal reporter engagement offer windows<\/a> into why his peers elevated his stature, according to senators and current and former top aides.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It has been a rapid leadership ascension&nbsp;for Tom Cotton, but it&rsquo;s been 10 years in the making,&rdquo; said John Martin, a former Cotton legislative director and partner at political consulting and lobbying firm Capitol Counsel. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s those relationships he&rsquo;s got with members that allowed him to.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>During last week&rsquo;s secret ballot leadership elections, Cotton received the backing of 35 of the Senate&rsquo;s 53 Republicans who will be in the majority next year. It was nearly double the 18 garnered by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), the fourth-ranked Republican policy chairwoman.<\/p>\n<p>Since first elected in 2015, Cotton has forged alliances and relationships across the ideological spectrum of Senate Republicans from outgoing Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to anti-establishment firebrand Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). Cotton has also remained close to President-elect Donald Trump and his allies despite some policy disagreements.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/3187727\/biden-mishandling-classified-documents-presidential-transition\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong>BIDEN MISHANDLING OF CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS LOOMS OVER PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>With Sen. Marco Rubio&rsquo;s (R-FL) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3229104\/trump-nominates-marco-rubio-secretary-state\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"nomination to be Trump&rsquo;s secretary of state\">nomination to be Trump&rsquo;s secretary of state<\/a>, Cotton will become Senate Intel chairman, a sought-after role that will vastly expand his sway over the nation&rsquo;s national security policies.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Cotton is respected by his colleagues across the caucus, which is why he was elected with such a strong margin,&rdquo; a source close to Cotton-world said, who was granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. &ldquo;He gets along with Trump and his team and isn&rsquo;t going to put up with any scheme from the deep state to sabotage Trump.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), a more centrist member who frequently disagrees with Trump or some of his more bombastic Senate colleagues, described Cotton as &ldquo;rock solid&rdquo; and &ldquo;very balanced.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;[He] has a unique ability to kind of dip into the two or three buckets of the members of the Republican Conference in a very effective way,&rdquo; Tillis said.<\/p>\n<p>A member of Cotton&rsquo;s political team credited the senator&rsquo;s &ldquo;knack of keeping internal debates internal&rdquo; as another key to success, despite the conference chair&rsquo;s public facing role tasked with the party&rsquo;s messaging. While Cotton frequently goes on the airwaves of friendlier networks like Fox News, his favorite line to reporters in the halls of Congress is &ldquo;no comment&rdquo; &mdash; no matter the question. (He&rsquo;s encouraged his young sons to embrace the same tactic when they visit but has had <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Phil_Mattingly\/status\/1138861128145088512\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">varying levels of success<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., speaks before Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Reading, Pa. (AP Photo\/Chris Szagola)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;Folks know how effective he&rsquo;s been at messaging, and I think they want him to bring those skills to the entire conference,&rdquo; the Cotton political team member said, who was not authorized to speak publicly. &ldquo;If we&rsquo;re going to win not just votes but win the debates, we have to be effective at getting our message out and having it resonate with the American people.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/economy\/3154138\/trump-no-tax-overtime-proposal-what-to-know\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong>TRUMP&rsquo;S &lsquo;NO TAXES ON OVERTIME&rsquo; PROPOSAL: WHAT TO KNOW<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Notably, Cotton took himself out of the running to be Trump&rsquo;s secretary of defense just prior to the internal Senate GOP elections. The move likely didn&rsquo;t go unnoticed by colleagues.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think the other members respected him for doing that and wanted to recognize the choice that he made,&rdquo; Martin said. &ldquo;They understand that he&rsquo;s willing to make sacrifices for the conference.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Those close to Cotton pointed to what they described as his &ldquo;decisiveness&rdquo; and being the first to wade into contentious political issues, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/COVID-19\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">COVID-19<\/a> originating from China, condemning the Black Lives Matter riots after George Floyd&rsquo;s murder, and combatting Iran.<\/p>\n<p>Cotton will fill the shoes of current Conference Chair Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), who&rsquo;s moving up a rung to be whip. Sen. John Thune (R-SD), the existing whip, was chosen as the incoming GOP leader to take the reins from Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who is relinquishing his leadership role after nearly 20 years but will continue serving his term as a rank-and-file member that runs through 2026.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We all remember what it was like when President Trump was in office and we had Republicans in charge of the Senate,&rdquo; Cotton said this week, flanked by the new GOP leadership team. &ldquo;We had low prices, we had high wages, we had a secure border, we had a strong military, we had a peaceful, stable world. Starting on January 3, that&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;ll all be working to build again with President Trump, with [House Speaker] Mike Johnson, and the rest of the House Republicans on behalf of the American people.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Cotton may very well be on a path to higher office, an avenue that he&rsquo;s already previously considered. <\/p>\n<p>He weighed a 2024 presidential run but ultimately decided against it, attributing the decision to his family life that includes two young sons. It was also likely a factor for whether to join the Trump administration, according to those close to him. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>But that doesn&rsquo;t mean White House aspirations may not someday be back on the table.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;People always say that every single senator can see themselves running for president,&rdquo; Martin said. &ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t rule that out.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><em>David Sivak contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1496530\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1496530\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) is set to become a key figure in the Senate GOP, rising to third-ranking Republican and chairing the Intelligence Committee next year<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3108,"featured_media":2370150,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/tom-cotton.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[6203,45200,3740,44538,32076],"class_list":["post-2370149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-gop","tag-powerbroker","tag-senate","tag-tom-cotton","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/tom-cotton.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2370149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3108"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2370149"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2370149\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2370153,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2370149\/revisions\/2370153"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2370150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2370149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2370149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2370149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}