U.S. Senator Jim Risch, a Republican from Idaho, introduced Ryan Nelson of Idaho at Nelson’s nomination hearing before members of Congress Sept. 7. Nelson has been nominated to become solicitor of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Nelson is general counsel for Melaleuca, an Idaho Falls nutritional supplements company, and lives in Idaho Falls. Risch is a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
Nelson graduated from Brigham Young University law school and has served as deputy assistant attorney general in the Environment and Natural Resources division of the Department of Justice. He has also served as special counsel for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. As solicitor of the Department of the Interior, Nelson would be the chief attorney for the department and principal legal adviser to the secretary of the interior, and would oversee 400 employees, including 300 attorneys.
