U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton will speak on the Senate floor Monday, a first for Arkansas’ freshman senator who has risen more prominently on the national stage after he issued an open letter to Iranian leaders about ongoing nuclear negotiations.
The senator, whom the Washington Post recently described as “a leading GOP national security hawk,” is scheduled to touch on national security and defense funding in the speech.
The open letter to leaders of the Islamic Republic signed by 46 other Republicans noted that without congressional approval any deal agreed to by Obama and Iran can be revoked when the president leaves office in 2017.
The White House immediately denounced the letter, and Vice President Joe Biden issued a statement calling the Republicans' action an unprecedented intrusion into foreign affairs, while Republican colleagues praised the epistle.
The speech will stream live starting at 5 p.m. on cspan.org.