Risch may be in line for top Foreign Relations post

Thu., Sept. 28, 2017

TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY

William L. Spence

Lewiston Tribune, Idaho (TNS)

Idaho Sen. Jim Risch could be about 15 months away from landing his dream job, assuming Republicans retain control of the Senate following the 2018 election.

Risch currently is the second-ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which oversees U.S. foreign policy and has jurisdiction over all diplomatic nominations.

Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., announced Tuesday that he won’t be seeking re-election in 2018. As long as the GOP maintains its majority, that means Risch is in line to take over as chairman in January 2019.

Risch currently serves as chairman of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee. He wasn’t immediately available for comment Wednesday, but in a 2016 interview he indicated a strong preference for Foreign Relations.

“I ask Bob Corker every week how his health is doing,” Risch said.

Corker will finish out his second term next year. He had previously pledged not to serve more than two terms, and announced Tuesday he won’t seek re-election.

The Washington Post reported that Corker called Risch to tell him the news and said he “must be the happiest person in the U.S.” He also jokingly told Risch he “could stop thinking of poisoning my coffee.”

Frank Church was the last Idahoan to head the Foreign Relations Committee. He served as chairman from 1979 to ‘81, after being on the committee for more than 20 years. Risch, by comparison, has been on the committee since his first term began in 2009.

Technically, Senate committees must vote their chairmen into place, and the majority party must approve the selection. Nevertheless, Risch’s press secretary, Kaylin Minton, noted that the Senate “has a long, consistent and predictable history for selecting chairmanships based on seniority.”

Senate rules also limit a chairmanship to six years.

The Washington Post said Corker “has earned accolades as one of the (Senate’s) most committed champions of bipartisanship.” The paper described Risch as “a more stoically partisan Trump supporter.”

However, since taking over as chairman of the Small Business Committee in January, Risch has pushed a number of bipartisan bills in cooperation with New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the ranking Democrat on the committee.

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Spence may be contacted at bspence@lmtribune.com or (208) 791-9168.

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)2017 the Lewiston Tribune (Lewiston, Idaho)

Visit the Lewiston Tribune (Lewiston, Idaho) at www.lmtribune.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Topics: t000002953,t000047694,t000047683

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