James Risch

Republican junior Senator of Idaho

Senator
Idaho
January 6, 2009 - January 3, 2015
Senator
Idaho
January 6, 2015 - January 3, 2021
Senator
Idaho
January 3, 2021 - January 3, 2027

202-224-2752

@SenatorRisch

risch.senate.gov

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Congresses Served

Senate Terms

January 1, 1943 (81 years old)

Birthday

Served as the junior United States senator from Idaho since 2009
Previously served as lieutenant governor of Idaho under governors Dirk Kempthorne and Butch Otter
Served as the 31st governor of Idaho from May 2006 to January 2007
Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and moved to Idaho in the early 1960s
Graduated from the University of Idaho with a B.S. in forestry in 1965 and a J.D. in 1968
Taught criminal law at Boise State University and was elected as Ada County prosecuting attorney in 1970
Elected to the Idaho Senate in 1974, representing the 21st legislative district until 1988, and later the 18th legislative district from 1995 to 2002
Defeated incumbent Jack Riggs in the primary for lieutenant governor in 2002 and served until 2006, then again from 2007 to 2009
Ran for the U.S. Senate seat held by retiring Larry Craig in 2008 and won, subsequently reelected in 2014 and 2020
His father is of German descent and his mother is of Irish, Scottish, and English ancestry
Became a millionaire as one of Idaho’s most successful trial lawyers while serving in the Idaho Senate
As governor, eliminated Idaho’s bureau office in Washington D.C., called a special session for property tax reform, and issued an executive order on employee citizenship verification
Chaired Governor-elect Phil Batt’s transition team in 1994 and was appointed to the state Senate seat vacated by Roger Madsen
Threatened to block a government spending bill in 2018 over a name change of a wilderness area
Signed a letter urging President Trump to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement in 2017
Endorsed Trump’s threatening North Korea with military destruction in 2017
Fell asleep during Trump’s Senate impeachment trial in 2020
Decided not to press Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to testify at the annual budget hearing in 2020
Blocked the confirmation of a Holocaust historian to a special envoy position in 2021
Has served on several Senate committees, including Energy and Natural Resources, Foreign Relations (Ranking Member), Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Ethics, and Intelligence
Co-sponsored legislation related to foreign policy, including sanctions on Syria, Turkey, and Ethiopia, and the Israel Anti-Boycott Act
Considered politically conservative with a lifetime conservative score of 91.54 from the American Conservative Union
Anti-abortion and supported the overturning of Roe v. Wade
Endorsed by the NRA with an A+ grade for his voting record on gun issues
Opposed the FIRST STEP Act and supports repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act
Abstained from voting on the creation of an independent commission to investigate the 2021 United States Capitol attack
Voted against the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act and the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023
Roman Catholic