Press Releases
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho) announced his nominations to the United States service academies for the upcoming 2026-2027 school year. “These Idahoans are some of the Gem State’s best and brightest,” said Risch. “Their leadership, academic promise, and commitment to defending our freedoms make these young men and women well-suited to attend one of our nation’s […]
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho) today urged the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to honor Idaho’s veterans by building a national cemetery in North Idaho. “While veterans in southern Idaho are well-served by VA national and grant-funded state cemeteries, veterans in North Idaho are forced to choose between forfeiting this honor or being buried […]
USS Idaho Engine Room to be Named after former Governor of Idaho WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho) today announced that the U.S. Navy will give the rare honor of naming a room aboard the USS Idaho (SSN 799) after former Idaho Governor and Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne. Senator Risch spoke with USS […]
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho) celebrated President Donald Trump signing his Break Up Suspicious Transactions (BUST) Fentanyl Act into law as part of the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act. Senator Risch’s bill will crack down on the import of deadly fentanyl and its precursors flowing from China to Mexico and across our borders. “Too […]
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho) celebrated that his bill to support the U.S. domestic nuclear energy industry’s leadership and offset China and Russia’s growing influence on international nuclear energy development was signed into law by President Donald Trump. Senator Risch’s International Nuclear Energy Act was included as part of the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization […]
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jim Risch and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) joined 20 of their Republican colleagues in sending a letter to President Donald Trump asking that marijuana remain a Schedule I drug. President Trump is expected to sign an executive order rescheduling marijuana to a Schedule III drug. “Rescheduling marijuana to a Schedule III drug will […]
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch, senior member and former chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, announced the selection of Zero Dark Thirty Coffee in Meridian as the Idaho Small Business of the Month for December 2025. Zero Dark Thirty Coffee will be recognized for its contribution to Idaho in the Congressional […]
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho) thanked interns for serving in his Washington, D.C. office during the fall 2025 term. While in their roles, interns learned about policymaking at the federal level and assisted in the daily operations of the office. “Senate internships offer firsthand experience in public policy and the legislative process to the […]
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, sent a letter to U.S. National Security Advisor Marco Rubio urging a review of the Biden administration’s failed vetting process for Afghan nationals. “The horrific terror attack in Washington, D.C. the past week that resulted in the shooting of […]
Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senators for Idaho Jim Risch and Mike Crapo joined Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) and over 30 of their Senate Republican colleagues to introduce the Back the Blue Act, which would increase penalties for criminals who target law enforcement officers and provide new tools for officers to protect themselves. “Any violence or attacks against […]