After graduating from law school, Crapo served for one year as a law clerk to Judge James M. Carter of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He then returned to Idaho to practice as a lawyer, joining his brother Terry Crapo's law firm of Holden Kidwell Hahn & Crapo in Idaho Falls. In the 1980s, he became active in the Republican Party's campaigns for seats in the state legislature. His brother served in Idaho House of Representatives for four years as majority leader (1968 to 1972) and was considered a rising star in Idaho politics.[3] After Terry's death from leukemia in 1982, Mike ran for an open seat in the Idaho Senate. He was elected to the State Senate in 1984, where he served until 1992. In 1988, Senate President pro temporeJim Risch unexpectedly lost reelection to the Idaho Senate, and Crapo was elected by his colleagues to the president's position. He served as senate president pro tempore from 1988 to 1992.
On January 27, 1989, Crapo served as acting governor of Idaho for 12 hours while Governor Cecil D. Andrus was out of the state testifying before Congress and Lieutenant Governor Butch Otter was out of the state on business for his employer, Simplot. Andrus, a Democrat, left Crapo a note saying, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do. ... P.S. The chair is comfortable, isn't it?"[4]
Crapo was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1998. He succeeded fellow Republican Dirk Kempthorne, who retired after one term to run for governor. In his Senate bid, as in his House campaigns, Crapo's campaign made signs that had a macron placed over the "a" in his name (Crāpo) to indicate its correct pronunciation ("Cray-poe").
Crapo was reelected in 2004 with 99.2% of the vote, with the other .8% going to a write-in candidate, Democrat Scott McClure.[5]
In 2010, Crapo was reelected to a third term with 71% of the vote, defeating Democratic nominee P. Tom Sullivan and Constitution Party nominee Randy Bergquist.
In 2016, Crapo was reelected to a fourth term with 66% of the vote, defeating Democratic nominee Jerry Sturgill and Constitution Party nominee Ray Writz. In October 2016, after the Donald Trump and Billy Bush recording came to light, Crapo said he would not vote for Trump.[6] He later reversed that decision.[7]
In the 111th Congress, Crapo served on the following Senate committees: Banking, Housing and Urban Development; Budget; Environment and Public Works; Indian Affairs; and Finance. He co-chairs the Senate Nuclear Caucus, the Canada-U.S. Inter-parliamentary Group (IPG); the COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) Caucus, which he founded; and the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus.
In April 2013, Crapo was one of 46 senators to vote against a bill that would have expanded background checks for all gun buyers. He voted with 40 Republicans and 5 Democrats to stop passage of the bill.[11]
The New York Times noted that Crapo became "something of a hero among advocates of bipartisanship" for his involvement in the "Gang of Six".[12]
In 2017, Crapo was one of 22 senators to sign a letter[13] to President Donald Trump urging him to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement.
Crapo's view on senatorial responsibilities for Supreme Court nominees has evolved. Of President George W. Bush's 2006 nomination of Samuel Alito, Crapo said in a press release, "All of the President's nominees deserve up-and-down votes and not efforts to obstruct judicial nominees for political purposes. Judges are not politicians, and hopefully, Judge Alito's nomination will put an end to the politics which have crept into the nomination process."[14] By contrast, in 2016, his press release regarding President Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland to replace the late Antonin Scalia said:
The Constitution gives the President the right to make nominations to the Supreme Court, with the advice and consent of the Senate. As part of its role in this process, the Senate may, at its discretion, withhold consent. The next Supreme Court justice will make decisions that affect every American and shape our nation's legal landscape for decades. Therefore, the current Supreme Court vacancy should be filled by an individual nominated by the next President of the United States.[15]
2020s
In September 2020, with less than two months to the next presidential election, Crapo voiced support for an immediate Senate vote on Trump's nominee to fill the Supreme Court vacancy caused by the death of justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, once a "well-qualified candidate" was put forth.[16]
For his tenure as the chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee during the 116th Congress, Crapo was given an "F" grade from the non-partisan Lugar Center's Congressional Oversight Hearing Index.[17]
In October 2023, Crapo visited China as part of a bipartisan congressional delegation led by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Crapo said he would raise concerns about market-access on behalf of Micron Technology, which faced restrictions in China. The delegation also met Foreign Minister Wang Yi, National People's Congress Standing Committee Chairman Zhao Leji, and Shanghai Communist Party Secretary Chen Jining.[20]
Committee assignments
Crapo's committee assignments for the 118th Congress are as follows:[21]
Crapo with Brigadier General Carmelo Burgio of Carabinieri in Afghanistan, 2010.
Crapo is considered politically conservative. The American Conservative Union's Center for Legislative Accountability gives him a lifetime conservative rating of 91.30.[22] Americans for Democratic Action gave him a liberalism score of 5 out of a possible 100 in 2020.[23]
Abortion
Crapo is anti-abortion. In 1998, he supported a bill that made it illegal for minors to cross state lines to get abortions in order to avoid parental consent laws.[24] In 2009, he voted to restrict UN funding for population control policies.[25] Crapo praised the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022.[26]
Energy
Crapo is a proponent of nuclear energy. He supports the nuclear energy projects at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL)[27] and helped work on the nuclear-related Senate bills known as the Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act (NEICA) and the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act (NEIMA).[28] The former bill helped establish the National Reactor Innovation Center at the INL.[27]
Gun law
In 2012, Crapo said that more gun control regulations would not curb violence in the United States. He also said that he supported efforts to improve mental health access rather than more gun laws.[29]
In January 2017, the NRA praised Crapo for introducing the Hearing Protection Act, which would make access to gun silencers easier.[34]
In response to the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, Crapo called for "solidarity" and praised first responders.[35] The Hearing Protection Act bill was tabled in wake of the shooting.[36]
On August 2, 2022, Crapo was one of only 11 senators to vote against the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act, a bill to expand VA health care and benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances.[38]
In 2024, Crapo argued that proposed Republican tax cut extensions do not need to be offset with measures to prevent the tax cuts from adding to the deficit.[40]
Crapo was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1999 and underwent a radical prostatectomy in January 2000. He had a full recovery and was declared cancer-free. In 2005 he had a recurrence of prostate cancer, and underwent a series of radiation treatments. He has become active in advocating early detection tests for cancer and other treatable diseases. Crapo has also pushed to create a federal Office of Men's Health.[42]
On January 4, 2013, Crapo pleaded guilty to DUI in connection with a December 2012 incident and received the standard punishment for a first-time offender in Virginia.[43] He issued a public apology just after his arrest,[44] and various Idaho media outlets criticized him in light of his religion's temperance tenets.[45][46]
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