OP-ED: Jim Risch Has Enormous Power. Who Really Wields It?

By Reed Lindsay

Did you know that Idaho Senator Jim Risch has been the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) for nearly eight years—and currently chairs it?

If you didn’t, you’re not alone.

I grew up in the Wood River Valley, and I run the award-winning independent media outlet Belly of the Beast, which covers Cuba and U.S.-Cuba relations. Our documentaries examine the devastating impact of U.S. sanctions and expose the powerful Cuban-American politicians behind them.

When outraged viewers asked me how they could help, I told them: Talk to your representatives in Congress.

Then it dawned on me: I had never talked to mine.

That’s when I realized Risch is arguably the most powerful member of Congress when it comes to our foreign policy.

I went to Capitol Hill seeking a meeting with Risch. Instead, I was referred to Victor Cerviño, a senior committee staffer. Cerviño had previously worked for three successive Florida senators: Mel Martinez, George LeMieux and Marco Rubio.

I hoped my firsthand reporting from Cuba would merit serious consideration. But Cerviño seemed uninterested. When I challenged the disconnect between U.S. policy and conditions on the ground, he became openly hostile.

I left with the impression that Cerviño’s allegiance was to Florida, not Idaho, and that Risch had handed Rubio the keys to Cuba policy. I also began wondering whether Rubio’s influence over Risch extended beyond Cuba.

At Rubio’s January 2025 confirmation hearing for secretary of state, Risch said he and Rubio were “in violent agreement on virtually every issue.”

Under Rubio’s direction, the Trump administration has intensified sanctions on Cuba and imposed an oil blockade. Blackouts can last days. Families cook over charcoal and endure sweltering nights without fans. Transportation is almost non-existent. Surgeons operate by cellphone light. Pharmacies lack basic medicines.

Instead of questioning the economic war on Cuba, Risch has applauded it, repeating the dubious claim that Cuba poses a national security threat.

Whatever Risch thinks of Cuba’s government, punishing an entire population doesn’t serve Idaho or this country. As I’ve argued in The American Conservative, our policy fuels migration, undermines anti-drug cooperation, pushes Cuba closer to Russia and China, denies opportunities to American businesses and wastes taxpayer dollars.

Idaho leaders have recognized these costs before. In 1977, Senator Frank Church met Fidel Castro and recommended that President Jimmy Carter ease the embargo.

Thirty years later, Gov. Butch Otter led a 35-member delegation of business leaders and other Idahoans to Cuba. Otter later advocated for an end to the embargo. Though critical of the Cuban government, Otter knew that Idaho farmers and businesses would benefit more from engagement than hostility.

Church was a Democrat. Otter was a Republican. Both understood that Cuba policy should be guided by common sense and U.S. national interests, not by Florida politics.

As SFRC chairman, Risch can summon officials, hold hearings, demand answers and scrutinize U.S. foreign policy. His ultimate responsibility is to put the interests of Idahoans and Americans first.

Instead, Risch has backed a hard-line policy that has hurt people on both sides of the Straits of Florida, while serving the interests of a handful of political opportunists and neoconservative ideologues in Miami and Washington, D.C.

Marco Rubio may be driving the policy, but Risch has had the power to keep him in check. Instead, he has been Rubio’s cheerleader. As the 83-year-old senator seeks a fourth term in office, he should be held accountable for what he has done—and what he has failed to do—with the enormous power entrusted to him.

Reed Lindsay is a journalist who grew up in the Wood River Valley. He runs Belly of the Beast, an independent media outlet that covers Cuba and U.S. policy toward Cuba.

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The Gem State Chronicle brings you news and analysis that empowers you to make positive change in Idaho. Established 2022.

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