In part, Senator Cotton said:

“We're starting now week three of the Schumer shutdown, where Chuck Schumer, because he's frankly scared of his radical left wing, is holding government funding hostage for ridiculous demands like $1.4 trillion dollars in new wasteful spending or health care at taxpayer expense for illegal aliens, climate change programs in foreign countries. If the Democrats want to debate those issues and they want to go to the voters on those issues, that's fine. We can do that at the right time. It's not when we're holding government funding hostage. So, it's time for Chuck Schumer and the Democrats to come to their senses, make sure that our troops and federal law enforcement and thousands of other Arkansans are going to get their paychecks. That poor women are going to be able to buy food for their kids and that the government can perform the services that it's supposed to for our citizens. It's time for the Democrats to end the Schumer shutdown.”

Senator Cotton’s full interview may be found here and below.

Yuna: And we're now joined by U.S. Senator Tom Cotton here on 4029 News. On the record, thank you, Senator, for joining us today from D.C. 

Senator Cotton: Thank you, Yuna.

Yuna: Thank you. And you were supposed to be in town, Senator, but due to the government shutdown and the inability for the Senate to open the government back up, you are in Washington. What are the discussions taking place right now?

Senator Cotton: Yeah, regrettably, we weren't able to be with our constituents back in the state this week. We decided to have session, even though the Senate was scheduled to be out of session, to see if the Democrats would come to their senses. We're starting now week three of the Schumer shutdown, where Chuck Schumer, because he's frankly scared of his radical left wing, is holding government funding hostage for ridiculous demands like $1.4 trillion dollars in new wasteful spending or health care at taxpayer expense for illegal aliens, climate change programs in foreign countries. If the Democrats want to debate those issues and they want to go to the voters on those issues, that's fine. We can do that at the right time. It's not when we're holding government funding hostage. So, it's time for Chuck Schumer and the Democrats to come to their senses, make sure that our troops and federal law enforcement and thousands of other Arkansans are going to get their paychecks. That poor women are going to be able to buy food for their kids and that the government can perform the services that it's supposed to for our citizens. It's time for the Democrats to end the Schumer shutdown. 

Yuna: Senator, you're back in D.C. What is the climate looking like that you'll get 60 votes to pass something? 

Senator Cotton: Well, frankly, a lot of us believe, because we've heard this from the Democrats, that they're scared to provide a few more votes to pass this funding bill and reopen the government before Saturday, because there's a large left-wing protest from the far-left base of the Democratic Party, and Democratic senators like Chuck Schumer are frankly scared of having those votes before Saturday, so unfortunately I’m kind of pessimistic that we're gonna have enough democrats join us this week to reopen the government hopefully once that big left-wing protest occurs on Saturday a few more of them will come to their senses and recognize that we need to open the government and then we can debate whatever issues the democrats want to discuss.

Yuna: Something gets done this week thank you and also this week as we record this on Tuesday we celebrated the release of twenty remaining live hostages after two years of war. Now you called this a monumental achievement. Can you talk about the scope of this hostage release and peace deal and what it signals for the future?

Senator Cotton: Well, it is truly monumental and historic, obviously for our nation, the nation of Israel, and most importantly for the families of those 20 hostages who were released. I commend President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu for getting to this point. And the reason we were able to get to this point is that President Trump and the United States have backed Israel all the way because we worked with Israel, for instance, to destroy Iran's nuclear program. So, once you use your power, whether it's military, political, diplomatic, financial to put pressure on Hamas and some of Hamas's patrons in the region, you see that you can get results as opposed to the policy of weakness and appeasement that President Biden pursued for so long. There's a lot left to be done. There are the remains of the deceased hostages that we still need to get so their family can properly lay them to rest. We need to make sure that Gaza does not fall back under the sway of Hamas. But this was a massive, monumental victory for the civilized world this week to welcome those 20 hostages back to Israel.

Yuna: So, what is next in the U.S.'s role for what's happening there in Palestine?

Senator Cotton: Well, obviously, we have to maintain security inside of Gaza. That's why the Israeli Defense Forces pulled back from their forward most lines of contact, but not all the way out of Gaza. There's been some discussion of potential security forces from Arab nations. I don't think American troops should be inside Gaza. Obviously, that's all going to be funded. I don't think American taxpayers should pay for that either. Again, our Arab friends in places like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and elsewhere can help with that, both from the troop standpoint and from the financial standpoint. The United States can play an important role facilitating all of that, assuring that our partners in the region are going to all be working in the same direction because we all share the same goal. Our Arab friends, Israel, the United States, that Hamas never regain a foothold inside of Gaza. 

Yuna: All right, well, Senator, you're also running for a third term in 2026. So why do you think you are the best candidate? 

Senator Cotton: Well, it's been my pleasure and honor to serve the people of Arkansas for these last 11 years. I've tried to help them achieve prosperity and safety and security: whether it's passing the original Trump tax cut bill in 2017 or the Big Beautiful Bill this year that doesn't just extend those tax cuts but improves them, helps deliver welfare reform and programs like Medicaid and food stamps, passes a new farm bill which I like to call the Boozman farm bill since he's the chair of the agriculture committee, that has huge investments in border security and immigration enforcement as well as investments in our national security. I want to continue to work with President Trump and my colleagues in the Senate to help delivering those kinds of wins for the people of Arkansas.

Yuna: And Senator, I know that you do have a couple of challengers for the 2026 election, including a farmer who says that she had to shut down their family farm because the government is just not doing enough and the cost of being a farmer in Arkansas is just too high. We know that we passed that big beautiful bill which had a couple of helpful things in it for farmers. What more do you think the federal government needs to do to help farmers in Arkansas?

Senator Cotton: Yeah, and unfortunately, Yuna, it's been really tough times for farmers across the state and across the country the last few years. That's in no small part because of Joe Biden inflation that drove up the cost of everything that it takes to be a farmer, to be a rancher, to be a forester. So, as I mentioned earlier, the Big Beautiful Bill has the new Boozman Farm Bill. That's going to provide more support for our farmers. That doesn't kick in until next year, though. So, we need to take some interim steps in the meantime. President Trump has talked about perhaps using some of the revenues from tariffs to help our farmers, especially soybean farmers who have been unfairly targeted by China. I would support such a step. He just posted today on social media that he's looking for new markets for our farmers, especially our soybean farmers, who again have been unfairly targeted by Chinese communists. So, I think we need to take a few more steps this year to make sure that our farmers can get into the next year's season, and then they can begin to benefit from the new farm bill.

Yuna: All right. U.S. Senator Tom Cotton joining us from Washington, D.C., as we record this on Tuesday. Thank you so much, Senator, for joining us from Washington. 

Senator Cotton: Thank you, Yuna.