When I took office, our Internet Crimes Against Children Unit faced a backlog of more than 1,400 unreviewed reports of suspected child exploitation. We eliminated that backlog, reduced review times to 24 hours or less, and built a statewide network of law enforcement partners. Arrests increased from 34 in 2022 to 143 in 2025. Behind those numbers are children who deserve to be safe and predators who must be held accountable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Idaho parents, the School Choice Tax Credit mattered. We defended it at the Idaho Supreme Court, making sure that parents had the freedom and support to find education solutions that worked for their children’s needs. The Idaho Supreme Court upheld it 5-0, and the challengers paid the state $70,000 in fees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In October, a federal judge agreed with our defense of Idaho’s sex-offender registry law and rejected the constitutional challenge to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Idaho’s laws protecting girls’ and women’s sports also came under attack. We challenged Biden’s rewrite of Title IX, preserved privacy in school bathrooms and locker rooms, protected children from irreversible sex-change procedures, protected parental rights to raise their children as they see fit, and defended the lives of unborn children against all challenges. Some of these challenges led us to SCOTUS, and I was honored to stand with Idaho\u2019s laws as an example to the nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Protecting Idaho Consumers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Inside the Consumer Protection Division, we strengthened enforcement, expanded outreach, and helped Idahoans recover money lost to deceptive business practices. Through voluntary mediation, we returned more money to Idaho consumers in the last 18 months than in all previous years combined since tracking began in 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Enforcement actions increased from eight in 2023 to 49 in 2025, while our statewide educational efforts have helped families recognize fraud before becoming victims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Major settlements against opioid manufacturers, tobacco companies, pharmaceutical companies, Meta, and General Motors held powerful corporations accountable for conduct and products that harmed Idaho families and communities. We’ve won over $300 million for Idaho and Idaho consumers in the last four years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Defending Constitutional Freedoms<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Defending the constitutional rights of Idahoans is a task I take seriously, and we\u2019ve had plenty of opportunity in a variety of venues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We challenged federal mandates that threatened individual freedoms of the First Amendment, and defended the right of Idahoans to live according to their sincerely held religious beliefs without contradictory government interference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We defended the Second Amendment against unconstitutional gun restrictions across the country, including a very recent victory cutting federal registration requirements for suppressors and short-barreled firearms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And, we regularly protect the Tenth Amendment which reserves all other rights for the states and people, instead of an ever-expanding federal appetite for bureaucracy, rules, and control. Government rarely gives power back and we\u2019ve won almost every time we need to keep the federal government in its lane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Standing Up for Idaho’s Sovereignty and the Rule of Law<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Whenever Idaho faced federal intrusion on our state\u2019s rights, we challenged and won against federal laws, administrative rules, and executive orders that hurt Idaho families, businesses, and agriculture.\u00a0 Even today, we are working to guard Idaho\u2019s precious water resources from a lawsuit demanding the federal government be allowed to cut in line for water rights at the expense of our ranches and farms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We worked tirelessly to stop the massive Lava Ridge wind project in the Magic Valley pushed by out-of-state interests and their allies in Washington D.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We blocked the Biden Administration’s criminally negligent immigration policies and stopped years of an unchecked scheme to defraud the public treasury and congressional apportionment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Transparency in government mattered too. We defended Idaho\u2019s open meeting laws, including our successful challenge involving the Idaho State Board of Education’s proposed University of Phoenix purchase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We successfully defended voting integrity at the Idaho Supreme Court by protecting Idaho\u2019s law requiring secure identification to vote against a suit hoping to weaken those standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Medicaid fraud, we prosecuted providers who filed false claims, and recipients who received benefits they were not eligible for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alongside local prosecutors, we brought the resources and expertise needed to pursue justice in some of Idaho’s most complex criminal cases, while respecting local authority and autonomy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Work Continues<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Good results come from strong leadership, consistent energy, and a clearly executed vision. Even with the fresh perspective of a new administration, these changes to the Office of Attorney General didn\u2019t happen overnight, and none of these accomplishments happened because of just one person. They reflect the dedication of an entire team of attorneys, investigators, and staff who believe the law should protect the people it serves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not every victory makes the newspaper, and that’s okay. My team doesn’t fight for headlines. We fight for results. As Ben Franklin once wrote, \u201cWell done is better than well said.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been an honor to serve Idaho these past four years. There is more work ahead, and our commitment to protecting Idaho families, defending our freedoms, and upholding the rule of law remains rock solid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Best regards,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dear Friends, Four years ago, when I was entrusted with serving as Idaho’s Attorney General, I knew difficult battles lay ahead. Some would take us all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States. Others were much closer to home, where success or failure could mean protecting a child in harm’s way, recovering […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":19777,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[243],"tags":[1310,1150,667],"class_list":["post-20604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinions-op-eds","tag-child-abuse","tag-school-choice","tag-supreme-court"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/gemstatepatriot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/raul-sig.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"