August 8, 2025
Six months ago, under the weak and failed leadership of the last administration, we saw an emboldened China, Iran, and Russia sowing chaos around the world. Fentanyl poured across our borders. Violence was commonplace, both abroad and here at home, in our cities and on our college campuses. On the campaign trail, President Donald Trump promised the American people peace. He promised to be a dealmaker-in-chief. And he has delivered.
In just six months, President Trump's peace-through-strength foreign policy and decisive engagement in major conflicts have made America safer and the world more stable. His leadership emboldens and empowers our allies, weakening our adversaries and strengthening our national security.
American interests are once again front and center on the world stage thanks to President Trump's meetings with more than 23 foreign leaders, including three visits from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and two visits from the NATO Secretary General. He secured ceasefires between Israel and Iran, as well as India and Pakistan. He even delivered a peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which will promote stability in a region that's vital to our strategic interest in critical minerals.
Last month, President Trump and his administration achieved something long thought impossible: securing commitments from 16 NATO allies to increase their defense spending to 5 percent of GDP. He also kept his promises from the campaign trail, from promoting peace in the Middle East to facilitating peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, once again making headway where others failed.
Moreover, President Trump took decisive action that devastated Iran's nuclear infrastructure. Many presidents have boasted that they wouldn't allow Iran's terrorist-sponsoring ayatollahs to get the bomb; only President Trump acted.
And President Trump's actions to stop the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs across the border aren't just domestic victories. The administration took a range of foreign-policy actions that set a new tone with bad actors abroad. President Trump cracked down on international cartels, designating eight Latin American cartels as terrorist groups. He also imposed sanctions on 10 individuals and seven entities for enabling drug trafficking, deported MS-13 and Tren de Aragua gangbangers to El Salvador, and coordinated a campaign reaching 150 countries to make clear that the United States would no longer allow illegal aliens to enter our country.
The Senate Republicans will continue to do our part to support the president's successful peace-through-strength agenda. We've confirmed President Trump's State Department nominees at the fastest pace in over 30 years, with more to come. We passed the Big Beautiful Bill to provide historic national-security investments that will both modernize our military and protect our homeland. This law will also strengthen America's energy security by refilling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve depleted by Joe Biden. And we will also remain focused on our work to deter Communist China's threat to our way of life.
America continues to face grave threats. The president has turned the tide against our adversaries, but they won't relent. Communist China still aspires to replace the United States as the world's dominant superpower. Russia and Iran continue to destabilize their regions with unprovoked aggression. Terrorists still aim to kill Americans wherever they can find us.
We must remain vigilant, and we will. In just six months, President Trump has demonstrated American resolve and strength. Over the next three-and-a-half years, I look forward to working with President Trump to maintain the peace through strong, resolute, America First leadership.
Tom Cotton is the junior U.S. senator for the state of Arkansas.