Idaho U.S. Senator Jim Risch is in line to be the next chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The Gem State Republican’s name was bandied about in Washington, D.C., Wednesday following the announcement that current Chairman Bob Corker won’t seek re-election, and the other leading candidate for the post, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, saying that he’s not interested in vying for the chairmanship in 2019.
Risch is the Number 2 Republican on the committee by seniority, and would get his shot only if Republicans hold their majority in the Senate in the 2018 midterm elections.
The 74-year-old Risch is in his second Senate term, which runs through 2020. He’s suggested he’ll run again then for another six-year term.
In addition to the Foreign Relations Committee, Risch serves on the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, Intelligence Committee; the Energy and Natural Resources Committee; and the Ethics Committee. (Spokesman-Review)
