Cotton says Russia will pay for hacks
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton weighed in repeatedly last week on claims that Russia had interfered in the 2016 presidential elections.
The Dardanelle Republican appeared on Fox News on Tuesday and on MSNBC on Wednesday and Thursday, sharply criticizing President Barack Obama and calling for a tougher stance against the nation's former Cold War adversary.
"Why do they think they could get away with doing something like hacking into the [Democratic National Committee?] It's because President Obama has constantly looked the other way on their aggressions," he said on Fox News' Tucker Carlson Tonight.
President Vladimir Putin's regime ought "to pay a price for that and a stiffer price than they have," Cotton said, but he said Russia's attacks on the Democrats were "way down the list" of Moscow's recent crimes and transgressions.
At the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday, Cotton questioned Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and National Security Agency Director Michael Rogers about Russia's cyberattacks.
Cotton expressed doubts about the "widespread assumption ... that Vladimir Putin favored Donald Trump in this election."
Pointing to the president-elect's support for increased military spending, modernized nuclear weaponry, and expanded oil and gas development, Cotton maintained that there is "contrary evidence, despite what the media speculates, that perhaps Donald Trump is not the best candidate for Russia."
Two senators meet with Cabinet picks
U.S. Sen. John Boozman met Thursday with President-elect Donald Trump's choice to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt.
Afterward, Boozman, a Rogers Republican, released a statement praising the nominee.
"Scott Pruitt understands the parameters of the EPA. His proven record of fighting to protect American families and businesses from the burdensome red tape makes him well suited to rein in the EPA," Boozman said. "As a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, I look forward to working with him to ensure the EPA uses a smart, balanced approach to safeguard our environment."
The same day that Boozman was greeting Pruitt, U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton met with the defense secretary nominee, retired Gen. James Mattis.
On Friday, Cotton met with Commerce secretary nominee Wilbur Ross.
Earlier in the week, Cotton also met with U.S. attorney general-nominee Jeff Sessions, and Housing and Urban Development nominee, Ben Carson.
Under the U.S. Constitution, Cabinet members and other top officials can hold their posts only if the Senate provides "its advice and consent" on their nominations.
Womack: Inaugural tickets available
Dying to attend the inauguration but don't have tickets? U.S. Rep. Steve Womack says that's a problem he may be able to solve.
"We've had a few cancellations. I think part of that may be related to the sticker shock that people get when they start trying to find a place to stay up here," the Rogers Republican said of Washington. The tickets are for "standing room only, and they're free."
"I don't want people to feel like that if they want to come, they can't because there aren't tickets. They just need to make sure they're contacting our office because we have had a few people turn theirs back," he said.
Information on the tickets is available by calling (202) 225-4301.
Hog's head trophy on Womack's wall
U.S. Rep. Steve Womack hosted an open house Tuesday for visitors to his Capitol Hill office. The star of the event was a wild boar's head that the lawmaker got over Christmas break.
Womack showed off the trophy and bragged about what he calls "my hog."
"Don't you think that the person who represents the land grant university whose mascot is the razorback ought to have a razorback?" he asked.
On Tuesday, Womack carried it around so that guests could see it up close, but by week's end, it had been affixed to government property: mounted on the wall.
The congressman's spokesman, Claire Burghoff, said her boss has been searching for a razorback ever since his election to Congress in 2011. The search finally ended over the holidays.
"While in the district over the Christmas break, Rep. Womack was listening to Dial-a-Trade on his dad's radio station -- KURM Radio (790-AM Rogers) -- and heard a caller advertising a mounted razorback," she said.
Womack snapped it up and promptly shipped it to Washington.
"Now I've got it right over my door," he said.
Two spend holiday on deer, fish, fowl
U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman says he hit an outdoorsman's trifecta during his Christmas vacation.
"[I] killed a deer, killed some ducks and caught some fish, so I can't complain about that," the Hot Springs Republican said. He pulled a few largemouth bass out of Lake Ouachita and the biggest weighed 2 or 3 pounds, he said.
He cast his lines in Lake Ouachita, calling it a "beautiful place in the winter time. [A] beautiful place anytime."
U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford also reeled in some fish from the Spring River, somewhere between Hardy and Mammoth Spring. But he spent a larger chunk of time building a coop for his daughter Delaney's five chickens.
She requested the birds for her ninth birthday, and they'd outgrown the brooder.
"They've got names, which means they're like pets, but we're having fun with them," the Jonesboro Republican said.
The names that were selected? Patti, Ruby, Beyonce, Blanche and Donna.
Their new home has been dubbed the Chick Inn.
Planning to visit the nation's capital? Know something happening in Washington, D.C.? Please contact Frank Lockwood at (202) 662-7690 or flockwood@arkansasonline.com. Want the latest from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Washington bureau? It's available on Twitter, @LockwoodFrank.
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