Rives was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-ninth Congress (March 4, 1905 – March 3, 1907). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1906 to the Sixtieth Congress. He resumed the practice of law in Litchfield, Illinois. He was postmaster of Litchfield 1912-1916. He moved to Decatur, Illinois, in 1919, and engaged in the practice of law and also the real estate business. He died in Decatur, Illinois, September 2, 1939. He was interred in Graceland Cemetery.