He was elected as a Republican U.S. Representative in 1966 and was reelected three times. In 1973, he changed party affiliation to become a Democrat and was reelected as U.S. Representative in 1974. He did not run for reelection to the House, but was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1976 for the term commencing January 3, 1977. On December 30, 1976, before the new term began, he resigned from the House and was appointed by the Governor to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Senator Philip A. Hart for the term ending January 3, 1977. He was reelected to the Senate in 1982 and 1988. He did not seek reelection in 1994.
In 1995, he joined Weber Shandwick Public Affairs in Washington, D.C., serving as executive committee chair. He has been an adjunct professor at Michigan State University School of Business since 1995. He also serves as a senior strategist for business and finance with APCO Worldwide.
Pentagon officials sought to refute the Riegle suggestion, saying all their evidence indicates Iraq did not use chemical or biological weapons during the war, although the country had the capability to launch such attacks.
Riegle told the Senate that his evidence was "compelling enough to justify a study" and said he would offer an amendment to the defense authorization bill allotting $5.7 million to investigate the claims.
Riegle's staff concluded that a number of the ailments claimed by the veterans were consistent with chemical exposure and said sophisticated medical examinations may be needed to determine the source of some of the abnormalities.