[CAPTURE PORTAL] 119TH CONGRESS

// Legislative Integrity Monitor

Goblin House Intelligence

James E. Risch

Republican · Senator, ID

Score Components

21 MODERATE

Connection Density 20%

0 → 0

Donor Influence 10%

0 → 0

Silence Risk 25%

20 → 5

Contradiction Risk 25%

46 → 12

Intelligence Volume 10%

47 → 5

Constituency Deviation 5%

0 → 0

Voting Misalignment 5%

0 → 0

% = weight in composite score · Raw component 0–100 × weight = weighted contribution (→) · Sum of contributions = overall score. Hover a row for details.

[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: Foreign-born population: 5.87%

secondary

[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: Homeownership rate: 72.1%

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[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: Poverty rate: 10.5%

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[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: Median household income: $77,800

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[constituency_baseline] Ballot measure: 2024 Idaho Proposition 1 — Open Primaries and Ranked-Choice Voting Initiative (2024) — failed, margin 69%–31%

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[constituency_baseline] Dominant industry: NAICS 31-33 (share 0.095)

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[constituency_baseline] Dominant industry: NAICS 44-45 (share 0.121)

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[constituency_baseline] Dominant industry: NAICS 62 (share 0.145)

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[constituency_baseline] Top employer: Idaho National Laboratory (5400 employees)

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[constituency_baseline] Top employer: Micron Technology (6000 employees)

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[constituency_baseline] Top employer: St. Luke's Health System (16000 employees)

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[constituency_baseline] District summary: Idaho is a predominantly rural, western state with a population of approximately 1.93 million. It is overwhelmingly White (78.5% non-Hispanic) with a growing Hispanic population (13.5%). The median age is 37.3, median household income is $77,800, and poverty is 10.5%. Homeownership is 72.1% with a median property val

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Voted nay on H.R.XXXX (Extension of Enhanced ACA Premium Tax Credits (preventing health care cost increases for 100,605 Idahoans)) on 2025-12-11: Risch voted against extending the enhanced ACA tax credits that 100,605 Idahoans rely on. The Idaho Democratic Party stated his vote would cause health care costs to double for these constituents. Idaho has a 10.5%

primary · 2025-12-11

Voted yea_unverified on S.XXX (Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act (ICC sanctions bill)) on 2025-01-28: Risch co-sponsored this bill to impose visa bans and financial sanctions on ICC officials over arrest warrants for Israeli leaders. Senate Democrats blocked its passage. Risch called the ICC warrants a 'complete disgrace.' AIPAC is his largest PAC contrib

inferential · 2025-01-28

Voted nay on H.R.3746 (Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (debt ceiling suspension with SNAP work requirements and spending caps)) on 2023-06-01: Risch voted against the bipartisan debt ceiling deal, stating 'Idahoans live within their means... the federal government should do the same.' The bill passed 63-36. His vote aligned with fiscal conservatives who op

primary · 2023-06-01

Voted yea on S.5 (Laken Riley Act (mandatory ICE detention for undocumented immigrants charged with certain crimes)) on 2025-01-20: Risch voted with the 64-35 majority. Idaho has only 5.87% foreign-born residents — among the lowest in the U.S. — meaning the bill carried minimal direct constituency cost while reinforcing his tough-on-immigration brand in a st

primary · 2025-01-20

Voted yea on H.R.1 (One Big Beautiful Bill Act (extending 2017 tax cuts, cutting $1.6 trillion in federal spending including $900 billion from Medicaid and $267 billion from SNAP over 10 years)) on 2025-07-01: Risch voted for the bill that passed 51-50 with VP Vance casting the tiebreaker. He praised it as 'the largest tax cut in history' for 'working Idahoa

primary · 2025-07-01

Voted yea on H.R.815 (National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024 ($95.3 billion including $60.8 billion for Ukraine, $14.1 billion for Israel, and $9.2 billion for Gaza humanitarian aid)) on 2024-02-12: Risch was one of only 22 Senate Republicans to back Ukraine aid, bucking a majority of his party and Trump. He issued a joint statement with Sen

primary · 2024-02-12

Voted nay on S.J.Res.38 (War Powers Resolution to remove U.S. Armed Forces from unauthorized hostilities in the Islamic Republic of Iran) on 2026-03-05: As Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Risch led the Republican floor opposition, calling Democrats' effort 'trying to use the process of the United States Senate to stop our commander-in-chief.

primary · 2026-03-05

[statement] In February 2025, Risch went silent when Trump falsely accused Ukraine of starting the war with Russia and called Zelensky a 'dictator.' By March 2025, Risch blocked Democratic resolutions in the Senate supporting Ukraine and condemning Russia. The Idaho Statesman editorial board wrote: 'Risch has long supported Ukraine. Silence on Trump's betray

primary · 2025-03-16

No connections mapped

Bill	Vote	Date	Alignment
War Powers Resolution to remove U.S. Armed Forces from unauthorized hostilities	nay	2026-03-05	aligned
Extension of Enhanced ACA Premium Tax Credits (preventing health care cost incre	nay	2025-12-11	misaligned
One Big Beautiful Bill Act (extending 2017 tax cuts, cutting $1.6 trillion in fe	yea	2025-07-01	misaligned
Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act (ICC sanctions bill)	yea_unverified	2025-01-28	aligned
Laken Riley Act (mandatory ICE detention for undocumented immigrants charged wit	yea	2025-01-20	aligned
National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024 ($95.3 billion including	yea	2024-02-12	deviating
Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (debt ceiling suspension with SNAP work requir	nay	2023-06-01	mixed

Last contradiction analysis: Never

reversal 90/100

Platform: "Risch was a persistent, full-throated supporter of Ukraine throughout the Biden administration. In February 2024, he wrote: 'We have kept the commitme"

Vote: on "In February 2025, Risch went silent when Trump falsely accused Ukraine of starting the war with Russ"

Risch spent years as one of the Senate's most outspoken Republican advocates for Ukraine, citing America's 1994 security commitments and calling Putin's invasion 'murderous aggression.' Within weeks of Trump's 2025 inauguration, Risch fell silent ami

Last silence detection: Never

In-person public town hall meetings with constituents

3358d silent

Expected position: As the senior U.S. Senator from Idaho and Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Risch would be expected to periodically hold open public town halls to hear directly from

Trump's shift away from supporting Ukraine, including Trump falsely accusing Ukraine of starting the war and calling Zelensky a 'dictator'

72d silent

Expected position: As Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a longtime vocal supporter of Ukraine who called Putin's invasion 'murderous aggression' and co-sponsored the REPO Act to seiz

No donor interests mapped

No constituency baseline modelled

No platform commitments archived

No committee memberships recorded

Scoring Methodology

The Capture Risk Score is a composite 0–100 index measuring potential regulatory capture of elected officials. It is computed from seven weighted components:

Component	Weight	Signal
Silence Risk	25%	Topics where donors have interests but the official is silent
Contradiction Risk	25%	Stated positions contradicted by voting record (recent findings boosted)
Connection Density	20%	Mapped relationships to lobbyists, contractors, interest groups
Intelligence Volume	10%	Documented facts from verified sources (logarithmic scale)
Donor Influence	10%	Distinct donors with interests overlapping committee jurisdiction
Constituency Deviation	5%	Gap between district priorities and legislative focus
Voting Misalignment	5%	Floor votes contradicting stated platform positions

Each component produces a raw score 0–100. The weighted sum yields the overall score. Tier thresholds: Critical ≥ 45, High ≥ 36, Elevated ≥ 22, Moderate ≥ 10, Low < 10.

Officials without at least 2 documented facts, 1 contradiction analysis, 1 voting record, or 1 constituency baseline are marked Insufficient Evidence and excluded from numeric ranking.

Contradiction findings from the last 180 days receive a recency boost. High-severity contradictions (score ≥ 70) receive additional weight.

Full methodology: /congress/methodology

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