OPINION: Idaho’s senators are in positions to limit the damage of some Trump plans
Jim Jones
Idaho Sens. Jim Risch and Mike Crapo will be in key positions next year to limit the damage inflicted on the country by Donald Trump. It is expected that Risch will chair the Senate Foreign Relations Committee while Crapo chairs the Senate Finance Committee. The question is whether they can muster the courage to stand in opposition to bad policy choices. I would not bet heavily in favor of good choices.
The next two years are critical because it looks as if Trump will start ramming his agenda through the new Congress right after his inauguration. The 2026 midterm elections will likely result in the Republicans losing a majority in either or both houses of Congress. Trump will just have two years to complete his makeover of America.
There is one potential bright spot in the outlook. Jim Risch has a traditional Republican view of America’s vital national security interests. He understands that the U.S. must maintain a strong North Atlantic Alliance, that it is critical to stop Russian aggression and that we can’t allow Vladimir Putin to subjugate Ukraine. Trump seems more than willing to side with Vladimir Putin on the subjugation issue, so Risch has his work cut out for him. He could swing enough votes in the Senate to save our country from disaster on this issue. I fervently hope he does.
Mike Crapo will have a chance to stand up for Idahoans on two important issues — saving the Affordable Care Act and preventing imposition of destructive tariffs. During his first term as president, Trump tried repeatedly to repeal the ACA, and he may have just enough votes to get that done next year. It would be a catastrophe for low- and modest-income Idahoans. The massive tariffs that Trump has called for would severely impact Idaho consumers and invite retaliatory tariffs against nearly $1.5 billion in Idaho agricultural exports. Crapo could use his Finance Committee position to stop both from happening, if he has the guts to act.
Closer to home, our senators need to convince Trump’s border warriors that Idaho’s economy has become dependent on the work provided by undocumented workers. Quite frankly, our dairy industry could not function without those workers. Idaho has other industries that depend on the undocumented. The service industry employs roughly 10,000 and over 5,000 are engaged in Idaho’s booming construction industry. They are filling jobs that very few others will take. Unless our senators are able to pass comprehensive immigration legislation or get the Trump border warriors to back off, hotels might have to tell customers to make their own beds. Dairies might have to convert to self-service milking. And, it will hit consumers hard in the pocketbook.
And what about Trump’s idea of diverting Columbia River water to California? On September 13, Trump told Californians, “I’m going to give you more water than almost anyone has.” Rocky Barker, Idaho’s intrepid environmental observer, reported that Trump’s proposal appeared to resurrect one made by a Los Angeles County Supervisor in 1990, which envisioned an aqueduct system that would start near Hagerman and divert water to Lake Mead. What boggles my mind is that this ludicrous water grab idea did not raise a discernible peep from any Idaho GOP officeholder — not the Congressional delegation, not statewide officeholders, not members of the Legislature.
The grandfather of all proposals designed to bring northern water supplies to California, called the North American Water and Power Alliance (NAWAPA), was conceived by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1950 and blueprinted by an engineering firm in 1964. It envisioned diverting waters from Alaska, through Canada and Idaho, to the Colorado River. When it publicly surfaced in the mid-1960s, every political figure in the Gem State said, “Hell no.” Sens. Frank Church and Len Jordan raised the roof and rushed legislation through Congress to prohibit studies by federal agencies for transfers of water resources between river basins. It was considered a mortal sin thereafter for any Idaho political figure to even broach the subject. Idaho’s Congressional delegation needs to speak out loudly and nip this horrendous idea in the bud.
These are just a few of the issues that our senators should use their utmost efforts to derail or modify to meet the needs of Idahoans in this new chapter of America’s political life. It will take courage, which seems to be an increasingly rare commodity in our politicians. They will need lots of encouragement from Idaho voters. I hope we are up to the task of defending ourselves from federal overreach.
• • •
Jim Jones is a Vietnam combat veteran who served eight years as Idaho Attorney General and 12 years as a justice on the Idaho Supreme Court. He blogs at JJCommonTater.com.
LINKS:
Tariffs that Trump has called for:
https://taxfoundation.org/blog/trump-tariffs-impact-economy/
Nearly $1.5 billion in Idaho Agricultural exports:
https://www.idahofb.org/news-room/posts/idaho-ahead-of-last-year-s-pace-for-ag-export-value/
Industries that depend upon the undocumented:
Hit consumers hard:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/11/opinion/trump-deportation-inflation-grocery-bills.html
Trump told Californians:
https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/article292941189.html
Rocky Barker:
NAWAPA:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Water_and_Power_Alliance