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Official portrait of James E. Risch

James E. Risch

R Republican · Senator, Idaho
11
Low self-dealing
4/6 components have data
#156 of 193 scored

Senator Risch is among the wealthiest members of the Senate, with a net worth estimated between roughly $19M and $88M, the bulk of it pre-office Idaho farm/ranch real estate and mutual funds rather than active individual-stock trading. His disclosed market holdings lean toward ETFs and funds (e.g., TQQQ, SPY) rather than single-name equities, and no STOCK Act timing or insider-trading allegations are documented. As Foreign Relations chair/ranking member he receives industry and ideological PAC money typical of the post; this is a correlation, not evidence of quid-pro-quo. No documented campaign-fund personal-use violations or revolving-door family issues were found.

Public record

In Congress since
2009
Committees
Foreign Relations (Chairman)
Energy and Natural Resources
Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Senate Select Committee on Ethics
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
United States Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control
Missed votes, 119th Congress
2.8% (26 of 915; median member 1.9%)
Campaign money, 2025–26 cycle
$3.4M raised · 27% from PACs & committees · $3.5M cash on hand FEC ↗

The stock-trading ban

Senate cloture on H.R. 7008, Sep 30, 2026
Yes
Cosponsored a ban bill
S. 4134

H.R. 7008 bans new stock purchases by members, spouses and dependents; it doesn't force sales of existing holdings. The Senate vote was on the version paired with the SAVE Act, which is why no Democrat voted yes. Full breakdown →

Disclosed stock trades

No periodic transaction reports on file since 2024. That's the norm: most members don't trade individual stocks, or hold them in blind trusts and diversified funds.

Amounts are the ranges members must report, not exact values. The STOCK Act requires a report within 45 days of a trade; "late" counts days past that deadline, measured to the filing date.

How the score breaks down

Stock self-trading
25% weight
10
Disclosures show mutual funds and ETFs (TQQQ, SPY) rather than active single-stock trading; no notable individual-equity trade volume, suspicious timing, or committee-sector overlap documented.
Risch's portfolio is dominated by real estate, mutual funds and savings, with holdings such as ProShares UltraPro QQQ (TQQQ) and SPY funds rather than active individual-stock trading.Data aggregatorfinbold.com ↗Quiver Quantitative's congressional trade tracker lists Risch's profile but shows no populated individual-stock trade records.Data aggregatorquiverquant.com ↗
Net-worth enrichment in office
15% weight
0
Estimated net worth (~$19M-$88M) is largely pre-office Idaho farm/ranch real estate; no evidence of growth beyond salary plus market returns during tenure.
Risch's largest assets are real estate (about 240 acres of Idaho farm/ranch land), most predating or independent of Senate office; 2023 disclosure net worth estimated $19.18M-$88.3M.Reference databaseopensecrets.org ↗
Money → action alignmentcorrelation, not proof of any quid-pro-quo
20% weight
25
Correlation, not proof: as Foreign Relations chair/ranking member he draws defense/foreign-policy and ideological PAC money (e.g., General Atomics ~$35K); PACs supply ~39% of funds. No quid-pro-quo asserted.
General Atomics is a top contributor (~$35,100) and PAC contributions make up about 38.6% of Risch's campaign funding; as Foreign Relations Committee leader he is targeted by defense and pro-Israel PACs.Reference databaseopensecrets.org ↗
Campaign-fund personal useno data
15% weight
—
No documented FEC findings or reporting of campaign or leadership-PAC funds used for personal benefit.
No FEC violation or personal-use finding involving Risch was identified; Senate Rule 38 and FEC rules prohibit personal use generally.Official recordfec.gov ↗
Revolving door & familyno data
15% weight
—
No documented family lobbying, office-tied contracts, or notable staff-to-lobbyist pipeline found.
No revolving-door or family-lobbying records tied to Risch's office were identified in available disclosures.Reference databaseopensecrets.org ↗
Skips the job to fundraise
10% weight
0
No record of unusually high missed votes or heavy paid-speech/fundraising substitution for legislative work.
No data indicating Risch missed votes at rates above the Senate median or substituted fundraising/paid speeches for floor duties.Reference databasegovtrack.us ↗

Sources behind this score: 2 data aggregator · 4 reference database · 1 official record. Score = weighted average of the components that have data; the 2 without sourced evidence are excluded, never counted against the member. Methodology →

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