Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) has reportedly finally given his answer about a 2024 presidential run in the wake of many months of speculation that the 45-year-old was preparing to kick off a run for the Oval Office, and that choice was to not run.
A series of reports claimed that Cotton just recently made his choice and that his family was a major factor in his decision to not pursue a campaign for the seat.
One source explained to CNN that Cotton just did not want to be forced away from his two young children, sons ages seven and five, by being on the campaign trail.
A report from Politico claimed that Cotton has been entirely clear with his donors that he is “open to serving in a future Republican presidential administration.”
Cotton has been fighting an uphill battle in order to secure his spot in the upper echelons of Republican candidates in regard of where they currently measure in polling as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) and former President Donald Trump (R) are the only two candidates that consistently poll in the double digits.
Cotton saw headlines just a few weeks ago when he, along with many other lead Republican senators, issued letters to multiple companies to tell them to “preserve relevant documents” as many legislators work with new antitrust investigations concerning the social, environmental, and governance movement that has come to be known as ESG.
The letter in question, which was originally headed up by Cottin himself, explained to well over four dozen different law firms to issue warnings to their corporate clients concerning “the risks they incur by participating in climate cartels and other ill-advised ESG schemes,” seemingly making reference to the fact that Lina Khan, the FTC Commissioner, recently claimed during a hearing that there is, in regard to antitrust laws, no “ESG exemption.”
“The ESG movement attempts to weaponize corporations to reshape society in ways that Americans would never endorse at the ballot box,” explained the letter. “Of particular concern is the collusive effort to restrict the supply of coal, oil, and gas, which is driving up energy costs across the globe and empowering America’s adversaries abroad.”
Going past asset managers pushing various portfolio companies to quickly swing to renewable energy, a group of six massive banks have recently been put under the microscope of Republican state attorneys general for coming together to promise to discourage the overall use of fossil fuels and investments. The banks in question were hit with civil investigative demands calling for details cocnering their overall involvement with Net-Zero Banking Alliance, an odd project from the United Nations which attempts to quickly unify bank portfolios with the express end goal of cutting carbon emissions by 2050.
“Over the coming months and years, Congress will increasingly use its oversight powers to scrutinize the institutionalized antitrust violations being committed in the name of ESG, and refer those violations to the FTC and the Department of Justice,” the letter concluded. “To the extent that your firm continues to advise clients regarding participation in ESG initiatives, both you and those clients should take care to preserve relevant documents in anticipation of those investigations.”
