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.

Afterward, he taught criminal law at Boise State University, and in 1970 was elected as Ada County prosecuting attorney.

In 1995, Governor Phil Batt appointed Risch to represent the 18th legislative district in the state Senate; he held the position until 2002.

In the second political defeat of his career, Risch lost the 1994 primary election for a state Senate seat to Roger Madsen.

[15] 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.

Risch was unopposed for the 2006 Republican nomination for lieutenant governor and defeated former Democratic U.S. representative Larry LaRocco in the general election.

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.

[23] 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.

[24] In 2017, Risch was one of 22 senators to sign a letter[25] 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.

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] 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.

[31] 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][34] In 2021, Risch blocked the confirmation of Holocaust historian Deborah Lipstadt to the position of special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism.

[38][39] Risch was a co-sponsor of the Promoting American National Security and Preventing the Resurgence of ISIS Act of 2019 (S.2641–116th),[40] 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.

[42] 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.

[48] 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.

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

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.