37
party insiders put this candidate on the Rigged Red Card
Documented Record
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Statehouse roundup, 4.2.26: House passes teachers' union restrictions, as session adjourns
Idaho Education News · April 2026
- He authored HB 516, a K-12 ban on LGBTQ+ instruction. The Senate gutted it and built a teachers' union restrictions bill around it in a procedural move known as "radiator capping." He defended the maneuver, saying "nothing was done sneakily."
- The overhauled bill passed the House 43-24 without an education committee hearing, drawing bipartisan criticism that the public was cut out of the process.
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Idaho House passes bill to require immigration status, nationality be reported on every arrest
Idaho Capital Sun · March 2026
- He acknowledged in committee that he had not worked with Idaho law enforcement in drafting HB 660, which was opposed by the Idaho Sheriffs' Association, the Fraternal Order of Police, and the Idaho Chiefs of Police Association.
- He said the "stakeholders are the people of your districts" rather than the law enforcement officials who would have to implement the mandate.
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Idaho House passes bill to require police, sheriffs' offices to sign 287(g) agreements with ICE
Idaho Capital Sun · March 2026
- HB 659, which he sponsored, would have required every local law enforcement agency to sign a federal ICE enforcement agreement. It passed the House 41-27 over law enforcement opposition citing unfunded training costs.
- The bill died in the Senate State Affairs Committee.
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Bill bans schools from teaching about sexual orientation, gender identity
Idaho Capital Sun · February 2026
- HB 516, which he sponsored as House Education Committee Chairman, passed the House 59-10, removing an age-appropriate exemption from the 2025 Parental Rights Act and creating a total K-12 ban on instruction referencing gender identity or sexual orientation.
- The bill was later repurposed in the Senate as a vehicle for teachers' union restrictions.
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Idaho lawmakers announce slate of immigration bills crafted with influential think tank
Spokane Public Radio · February 2026
- He hosted the Heritage Foundation's announcement of a 2026 immigration bill slate that included the ICE mandate, refugee restrictions, E-Verify requirements, and criminalization of harboring undocumented persons.
- The Heritage Foundation's point person, Theo Wold, previously served in the Trump administration and is connected to Project 2025.
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Idaho lawmakers to partner with national conservative think tank to bring more immigration bills
Spokane Public Radio · October 2025
- He has partnered with the Heritage Foundation to craft Idaho immigration bills since 2023. His 2025 slate of three bills (HB 335, HB 382, HB 474) all failed.
- The Heritage Foundation representative involved in drafting the bills previously worked in the Trump administration and is a Project 2025 contributor.
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This is a desert, after all
Times-News Editorial Board · April 2025
- Named among 25 Idaho legislators who voted against HB 445, which codified water stewardship agreements and funded aquifer recharge critical to Idaho agriculture.
- The Twin Falls Times-News editorial board asked: "It makes us wonder who they're representing."