Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) is vowing that he’ll fight any attempt to punish the United Kingdom if it votes to leave the European Union this week.
Cotton spoke on the Senate floor Tuesday against politicians, including President Obama, and economists who have warned of dire economic consequences if the U.K. leaves the EU, called “Brexit.”
{mosads}“The American people will stand with Britain, in or out of the EU, and will stand against punitive retaliation against the British people,” said Cotton, promising to defend the U.S. and U.K.’s close military and economic ties.
“Just as I’ll do everything in my power to preserve our special relationship against [European] meddling, so I’ll do the same with any administration who doesn’t fully appreciate that relationship,” he said.
The U.K. will hold a referendum Thursday on whether it will remain a member of the EU. Recent polls paint a tight race that’s too close to call.
President Obama warned in April that the U.K. would fall to “the back of the queue” for negotiating U.S. trade agreements. Federal Reserve Board Chairwoman Janet Yellen on Tuesday warned of “significant economic repercussions” if the U.K. left.
Cotton countered that U.S. officials shouldn’t throw their weight behind a side. He said the administration “was sticking its nose where it doesn’t belong” with a “strange combination of arrogance and ignorance … all too typical of the Obama administration.”
“The British people alone should decide their policy toward the Continent,” said Cotton. “What I will defend is their sovereign right as a people to decide the question free of external influences, foreign threats, and hysterical fear-mongering.”
Cotton also criticized the EU for failing to effectively manage stagnant economic growth and a refugee crisis, hinting that the U.K. had reason enough to break its ties.
“If the EU loses Great Britain, Europe will lose 350 million pounds a week and it will lose a dumping ground for a quarter million migrants a year,” said Cotton. “The stakes are pretty high for Brussels,” the EU’s capital city.
The senator joins a growing chorus of Republican lawmakers opposed to the Obama administration’s comments. Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas), Mike Lee (Utah) and Jeff Sessions (Ala.) urged Obama not to weigh in on Brexit in a Monday letter, which followed one from 11 House Republicans last week.
Obama has defended his comments, insisting the U.S. had a right to weigh in because of its strong ties with the U.K.
“As part of our special relationship, part of being friends is to be honest and to let you know what I think,” said Obama in April. “The outcome of that decision is a matter of deep interest to the U.S., because it affects our prosperity as well.”