James Elroy Risch (/ˈrɪʃ/ RISH; born May 3, 1943) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Idaho since 2009.^[1] A member of the Republican Party, he served as lieutenant governor of Idaho under governors Dirk Kempthorne and Butch Otter. He also served from May 2006 to January 2007 as the 31st governor of Idaho.

Raised in Milwaukee, Risch moved to Idaho in the early 1960s. After graduating from the University of Idaho, he received a B.S. degree in forestry in 1965 and earned a J.D. in 1968. Afterward, he taught criminal law at Boise State University, and in 1970 was elected as Ada County prosecuting attorney. In 1974, he was elected to the Idaho Senate, where he represented the 21st legislative district from 1974 to 1988. In 1995, Governor Phil Batt appointed Risch to represent the 18th legislative district in the state Senate; he held the position until 2002.

Risch ran for lieutenant governor of Idaho in 2002, defeating incumbent Jack Riggs in the primary. He served under Governor Dirk Kempthorne from 2003 to 2006. After Kempthorne resigned to become the United States Secretary of the Interior in May 2006, Risch was sworn in as governor. He chose not to run for a full term as governor in the 2006 gubernatorial election and instead ran for reelection as lieutenant governor. After winning the nomination, he served under Governor Butch Otter from 2007 to 2009.

Risch ran for the U.S. Senate seat held by the retiring Larry Craig in the 2008 election. He won the election, defeating Democratic nominee Larry LaRocco. Risch was reelected in 2014 and 2020.

Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Risch is the son of Helen B. (née Levi) and Elroy A. Risch, a lineman for Wisconsin Bell. His father is of German descent and his mother is of Irish, Scottish, and English ancestry.^[2] Risch attended the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee from 1961 to 1963 and then transferred to the University of Idaho in Moscow, where he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.^[3] He obtained a B.S. degree in forestry in 1965,^[4] and continued his education at the university’s College of Law. He served on the Law Review and the College of Law Advisory Committee^[5] before receiving a J.D. degree in 1968.^[6]

Risch entered politics in 1970 in Boise at age 27, winning election as Ada County Prosecuting Attorney. While serving in this capacity, he taught undergraduate classes in criminal justice at Boise State College and served as the president of the state’s prosecuting attorneys’ association. Concurrent with his service in the Idaho Senate, Risch became a millionaire as one of Idaho’s most successful trial lawyers.^[7]

Risch was first elected to the Idaho Senate from Ada County in 1974. He entered the state senate leadership in 1976, serving as majority leader and later as president pro tempore.

In a dramatic upset, Risch was defeated for reelection in 1988 by Democratic political newcomer and Boise attorney Mike Burkett.^[8][9] As of mid-2006, it remains Idaho’s most expensive legislative contest.

In the second political defeat of his career, Risch lost the 1994 primary election for a state Senate seat to Roger Madsen. Later that year Risch chaired Governor-elect Phil Batt‘s transition team, and after Batt took office he appointed Risch to the seat vacated by Madsen, who had been named as the director of the Department of Labor, then known as the Department of Employment.^[10][11] In 1996, Risch was elected Senate Majority Leader after defeating fellow Boise Republican Sheila Sorensen.^[12][13]

In January 2001, Risch had his eye on the lieutenant governor’s seat vacated by Butch Otter, who resigned after being elected to Congress, but Governor Dirk Kempthorne appointed state Senator Jack Riggs of Coeur d’Alene to the post instead. The next year, Risch defeated Riggs in the Republican primary and won the general election, spending $360,000 of his own money on the campaign.

On May 26, 2006, Risch became governor of Idaho when Kempthorne resigned to become U.S. secretary of the interior. Risch appointed Mark Ricks to serve as his lieutenant governor.^[14]

Upon taking office, Risch eliminated Idaho’s bureau office in Washington D.C. and replaced it with offices in Idaho Falls and Coeur d’Alene.^[15] In August 2006, he called a special session of the Idaho Legislature to consider his proposed property tax reform bill, the Property Tax Relief Act of 2006. In December, he issued an executive order that mandated state agencies to verify whether new employees are legal citizens.^[16]

Risch was initially expected to enter the 2006 Republican gubernatorial primary to succeed Kempthorne, who was completing his second term at this time of his federal appointment. But U.S. Representative Butch Otter had already announced his candidacy to replace Kempthorne and gained a significant head start in campaigning and fundraising. In November 2005, Risch announced his intention to seek election again as lieutenant governor. He served out the remaining seven months of Kempthorne’s term, which ended in January 2007.

Risch was unopposed for the 2006 Republican nomination for lieutenant governor and defeated former Democratic U.S. representative Larry LaRocco in the general election. Risch’s term as governor ended in January 2007 and he returned to the role of lieutenant governor. He resigned as lieutenant governor to take his seat in the Senate on January 3, 2009. Otter named state Senator Brad Little of Emmett as Risch’s successor.

2008

On August 31, 2007, the Associated Press reported that Governor Otter might appoint Risch to the United States Senate to succeed the embattled Larry Craig. On September 1, the Idaho Statesman reported that Otter’s spokesman denied Risch had been selected and that Otter had “made no decision and he is not leaning toward anybody.”^[17] On October 9, Risch announced that he would run for the Senate seat.^[18] In May 2008, Risch was nominated as the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate.^[19] In the general election he defeated former Democratic Congressman Larry LaRocco with 58% of the vote.^[20]

2014

Risch won the Republican primary with 79.9% of the vote^[21] and defeated attorney Nels Mitchell in the general election with 65.3% of the vote.^[22]

2020

Risch was unopposed in the 2020 Republican primary.^[23] He defeated Democratic nominee Paulette Jordan in the general election with 62% of the vote.^[24]

Risch was one of four freshmen Republican senators in the 111th Congress of 2009, with Mike Johanns of Nebraska, George LeMieux of Florida and Scott Brown of Massachusetts. Republican Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho called Risch “results-oriented”.^[25]

In 2017, Risch was one of 22 senators to sign a letter^[26] to President Donald Trump urging him to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement.

On August 11, 2017, in an interview on PBS Newshour, Risch endorsed Trump’s threatening North Korea with military destruction in the event that country launched missiles at Guam.^[27]

On March 22, 2018, the day before a potential federal government shutdown, Risch threatened to block a government spending bill because it included changing the name of the White Clouds Wilderness protected area to honor a deceased political rival, former Idaho Governor Cecil Andrus.^[28][29] Risch ultimately acquiesced.

In January 2019, Risch joined Marco Rubio, Cory Gardner, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in introducing legislation that would impose sanctions on the government of President of Syria Bashar al-Assad and bolster American cooperation with Israel and Jordan.^[30]

On January 21, 2020, during the first day of opening arguments in Trump’s Senate impeachment trial, Risch was the first senator to fall asleep. Courtroom sketch artist Art Lien memorialized his nap.^[31]

In 2020, while Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Risch decided not to press Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to testify at the annual budget hearing. Pompeo had just successfully sought to have State Department inspector general Steve Linick fired; at the time, Linick had been conducting a watchdog investigation into the Trump administration’s decision to sell arms to Saudi Arabia without congressional approval.^[32] For his tenure as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during the 116th Congress, the nonpartisan Lugar Center‘s Congressional Oversight Hearing Index gave Risch an “F” grade.^[33]

Risch was participating in the certification of the 2021 United States Electoral College vote count when Trump supporters stormed the United States Capitol. He called the attack “unpatriotic and un-American in the extreme” and suggested it was spurred by “deep distrust in the integrity and veracity of our elections.”^[34][35]

In 2021, Risch blocked the confirmation of Holocaust historian Deborah Lipstadt to the position of special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism.^[36]

• Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
  • Subcommittee on Energy
  • Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests
  • Subcommittee on Water and Power
• Committee on Foreign Relations (Ranking Member)
  • As Ranking Member of the Full Committee, Risch is entitled to sit as an ex officio member on all subcommittees.
• Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
• Select Committee on Ethics
• Select Committee on Intelligence

• Senate Republican Conference
• Congressional Coalition on Adoption^[37]

In 2019, Risch sought to quell dissent among Republican senators over what they perceived as the Trump administration’s weak response to the killing of Saudi journalist and U.S. permanent resident Jamal Khashoggi, and its refusal to send Congress a report on the administration’s determination of who killed Khashoggi. He told his fellow Republican senators and Politico that the Trump administration was in compliance with the Magnitsky Act, but the administration had said that it refused to comply with the Act.^[38]

In March 2018, Risch co-sponsored the Israel Anti-Boycott Act (s. 720), which would bar federal contractors from encouraging or participating in boycotts against Israel and Israeli settlements in the West Bank.^[39][40]

Risch was a co-sponsor of the Promoting American National Security and Preventing the Resurgence of ISIS Act of 2019 (S.2641–116th),^[41] which was intended to punish Turkey and protect allies like the Kurds, who had suffered from recent Turkish military operations in Syria, including by resettling them in the U.S. The measure had broad support in Congress, which was concerned about the purchase of the Russian S-400 missile system Turkey was testing.^[42]

On October 18, 2022, Risch criticized the Biden administration for hesitating to impose sanctions on the government of Ethiopia, where many atrocities and war crimes were committed in the Tigray War. He tweeted that Biden “must stop avoiding the use of sanctions in fear of offending and prioritize #humanrights”.^[43]

In July 2024, Risch sponsored a report that advocated strengthening NATO and enhancing its planning for potential interference from the People’s Republic of China.^[44]

Risch is considered politically conservative. The American Conservative Union‘s Center for Legislative Accountability gives him a lifetime conservative score of 91.54.^[45] The liberal Americans for Democratic Action gave him an ideology score of zero in 2019.^[46]

Risch is anti-abortion.^[47] He believes that Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided.^[48] In 2013, he co-sponsored the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, which would have made it illegal for a minor to cross state lines for an abortion.^[49] Risch supported the June 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade and applauded the Supreme Court for recognizing “that states have an interest in protecting life at all stages of development by giving Americans the power to decide this matter at the state-level through their elected representatives.”^[48]

The NRA Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) endorsed Risch and gave him an A+ grade for his voting record on gun issues.^[50]

In 2013, along with 12 other Republican senators, Risch threatened to filibuster any bills Democrats introduced that Republicans perceived as a threat to gun rights, including expanded background checks. In an interview with National Public Radio, he said that Americans’ right to keep and bear arms includes “a right to purchase one [a gun], to sell one, to trade in one, and you really have to have a robust market if indeed you’re going to have a constitutional right.” He also said that additional background checks would mean that gun dealers would “have to deal with the federal bureaucracy, which is very, very difficult to deal with.”^[51]

In response to the Orlando nightclub shooting, Risch and Crapo said the shooting was not a reason to call for gun control legislation.^[52]

In 2016, Risch voted against the Feinstein Amendment, which would have blocked the sale of guns to people on the terrorist watch list, and Democrat Chris Murphy‘s proposal to expand background checks for sales at gun shows and online. Risch voted for both Republican-backed bills, John Cornyn‘s proposal to create a 72-hour delay for anyone on the terrorist watchlist buying a gun and Charles Grassley and Ted Cruz‘s proposal to alert authorities if a someone on the list tries to buy a firearm.^[53]

Risch opposed the FIRST STEP Act, a bipartisan criminal justice reform bill. The bill passed 87–12 on December 18, 2018.^[54]

Risch supports repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare.^[55] He voted against the ACA in 2010.^[56]

On May 21, 2020, Risch introduced S. 3829, the Global Health Security and Diplomacy Act, but it did not receive a vote. In opening the confirmation hearings for Secretary Antony Blinken, Risch emphasized it as a legislative and foreign policy priority, given the “catastrophic failure at every level” of global health security infrastructure. The bill’s supporters claim it would “improve coordination among the relevant Federal departments and agencies implementing United States foreign assistance for global health security, and more effectively enable partner countries to strengthen and sustain resilient health systems and supply chains with the resources, capacity, and personnel required to prevent, detect, mitigate, and respond to infectious disease threats before they become pandemics, and for other purposes.”^[57]

On May 28, 2021, Risch abstained from voting on the creation of an independent commission to investigate the 2021 United States Capitol attack.^[58]

On August 2, 2022, Risch was one of only 11 senators to vote against the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act, a bill to expand VA health care and benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances.^[59]

Risch was among the 31 Senate Republicans who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.^[60]

Risch is Roman Catholic.^[61]

• Senator Jim Risch official U.S. Senate website
• Jim Risch for Senate
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
• Profile at Vote Smart

Elections

• National Business Aviation Association: Election 2014, Sen. Jim Risch
• Risch revels in upcoming term as king The Idaho Statesman March 18, 2006
• Risch becomes Idaho’s 31st governor The Idaho Statesman May 26, 2006