While serving as a legal advisor for the Memphis Police Department from 1975 to 1978, Cohen rose to political prominence when he was elected vice president of the Tennessee Constitutional Convention of 1977 at age 27.

[9] He sponsored the T-Bo law, the nation's first-ever statute providing for damages up to $5,000 in cases of intentional or negligent acts resulting in the death of a companion dog or cat.

[16] Though the ninth district is heavily Democrat, Jake Ford was seen as a serious contender for the race because of his significant name recognition among Memphis's black voters.

For example, Cohen's support for a hate-crimes bill drew particularly strong opposition from most of the city's black ministers because it included a sexual orientation provision.

At a June 2008 campaign event, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Cohen "the conscience of the freshman class", adding, "He is a progressive and an important member of the Transportation Committee, which provides the infrastructure for jobs that will make America more competitive in the global economy.

One attacked Cohen for voting against a proposal that would have removed a statue and the remains of Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate lieutenant-general who was involved in the founding of the Ku Klux Klan,[24] from the Medical Center park.

On the day the primary was held, Barack Obama denounced Tinker's ads, saying they "have no place in our politics, and will do nothing to help the good people of Tennessee."

George Brooks, a Tinker supporter, distributed literature in the district that stated that "Cohen and the Jews HATE Jesus" and urged the defeat of an "opponent of Christ and Christianity."

In a guest column in the Memphis Commercial Appeal, Herenton wrote that while he hoped the campaign would focus on issues rather than race or religion, "it remains a fact that the 9th congressional district provides the only real opportunity to elect a qualified African-American to the all-white 11-member delegation representing Tennessee in Washington."

[32] While Cohen's commanding win in the 2008 primary suggested that he had strong support among the district's African-American community, Herenton was easily his highest-profile opponent to date.

In addition, Herenton's campaign manager Sidney Chism told The New York Times that Cohen's Memphis-area seat "was set aside for people who look like me.

Together, we passed historic health care reform and together we're continuing the fight to renew our economy and bring jobs back to the American people.

[40] To expand funds available for research and development of alternative energy sources, Cohen supports an excess profits tax on oil companies.

[39] On May 10, 2012, at a House subcommittee hearing on asbestos trust transparency legislation, Cohen described plaintiff's attorneys who contacted him about the illness of his friend Warren Zevon as "parasites."

[39] During his first month in Congress, Cohen supported the "100-Hour Plan" in the House, which included raising the federal minimum wage, requiring the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate lower Medicare prescription drug prices, and reducing interest rates for student borrowers.

He also cosponsored House Concurrent Resolution 23, which "[expresses] the sense of Congress that the President should not order an escalation in the total number of members of the United States Armed Forces serving in Iraq.

[57] The resolution passed on July 29, 2008, marking the first time a branch of the federal government had officially apologized for the institution of slavery and its aftermath.

[67] Cohen sponsored and co-authored, along with J. Randy Forbes, Dana Rohrabacher, Jan Schakowsky, and Jerrold Nadler, The National Guard & Reservist Debt Relief Extension Act, which allows qualifying members of the National Guard and reservists to bypass the often onerous means testing required under current bankruptcy law if their financial hardships were caused by deployment.

Cohen recommended Bishop William Graves, V. Lynn Evans, and Ron Walter for the Board of Directors at the Tennessee Valley Authority.

The project added a dedicated sidewalk to the Harahan Bridge connecting Tennessee to Arkansas, allowing people to walk or bicycle over the Mississippi River.

"[74] Although his family has no knowledge of any Turkish heritage, Cohen's mother's birth certificate states his maternal grandfather was born in Turkey when it was part of the Ottoman Empire.

[75] He had consistently opposed congressional recognition of the Armenian genocide on pragmatic grounds, believing that recognizing it officially in Congress would damage relations with Turkey.

[77][78] In October 2017, Aram Hamparian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America, said, "Reps. Stivers, Cohen, and Sessions—in stripping out language about the Armenian Genocide from a bill about Turkish-Armenian relations—are, effectively, carrying Turkish President Erdogan’s water in Washington, advancing his shameful denial campaign even as he’s doubling down on his government’s anti-American actions and attitudes.

[80] According to Cohen's hometown paper, the Memphis Commercial Appeal, he was "accused of upsetting the newfound atmosphere of civility in the House" following the assassination attempt on Representative Gabby Giffords.

"[83] His remarks were also condemned by the National Jewish Democratic Council, which issued a statement saying that "invoking the Holocaust to make a political point is never acceptable—on either side of the aisle.

Instead of unequivocally condemning hateful actions by neo-Nazis, white nationalists and Klansmen following a national tragedy, the President said "there were very fine people on both sides."

[89]On August 15, Trump had commented on the rally, saying that there were "very fine people on both sides"[90][91] but explicitly excluding "the neo-Nazis and the white nationalists, because they should be condemned totally".

[93] On June 30, 2020, Cohen and 35 cosponsors introduced a resolution (H.Res.1032) on the House floor calling for the impeachment of Attorney General William Barr for many instances of alleged malfeasance.

[97] In July 2018, Cohen said that Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections amounted to "an act of war", which the U.S. needed to counter with "cyber attacks against the Kremlin".

Cohen became the subject of media attention when during the 2013 State of the Union address he accidentally publicly tweeted at model Victoria Brink, "pleased u r watching.