Brenna Bird
Brenna Bird (née Findley) is an American lawyer and politician from Iowa. A member of the Republican Party, she is the incumbent Iowa Attorney General.
Brenna Bird | |
---|---|
34th Attorney General of Iowa | |
Assumed office January 3, 2023 | |
Governor | Kim Reynolds |
Preceded by | Tom Miller |
Personal details | |
Born | Brenna Findley |
Political party | Republican |
Education | Drake University (BA) University of Chicago (JD) |
Biography
Early life
Bird grew up on a farm near Dexter, Iowa. She earned her bachelor's degree from Drake University and her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Chicago Law School in 2001.[1]
Career
In the 2010 elections, Bird ran for Attorney General of Iowa. She lost to incumbent Tom Miller by 11 percent.[2] She considered running for the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2014 elections, but opted against running.[3] Bird served as counsel to Governor Terry Branstad and became county attorney for Guthrie County, Iowa in 2018.[4] In 2019, a jury ruled that Branstad and Bird had discriminated against an employee because of his sexual orientation, and awarded him $1.5 million, [5] but the verdict was overturned by the Iowa Supreme Court in 2021.[6]
She ran against Miller in the 2022 Iowa Attorney General election.[7] She narrowly defeated Miller, who had served ten four-year terms as attorney general.[8][9]
On April 9, 2023, Bird's office ordered a pause in the state's practice of paying for emergency contraception or abortions for rape victims.[10]
References
- Anderson, Alex (April 21, 2013). "Q & A with Brenna Findley '01, Counsel to IA Governor Terry Branstad". The Collegian. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
- Gruber-Miller, Stephen (January 4, 2022). "Brenna Bird running for Iowa attorney general against Tom Miller". Des Moines Register. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
- Jacobs, Jennifer (February 3, 2014). "GOP's Brenna Findley rules out run for Congress this year". Des Moines Register. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
- "Meet Iowa attorney general candidates in midterm elections 2022". Des Moines Register. October 4, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
- Sullivan, Kate (July 16, 2019). "Jury finds ex-Iowa governor discriminated against gay official". CNN. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
- Foley, Ryan (June 30, 2021). "Court overturns gay bias verdict against ex-Iowa governor". Retrieved June 7, 2023.
- "Brenna Bird wins Iowa attorney general race over longtime AG Tom Miller". Kcci.com. November 8, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
- Stern, Seth (November 9, 2022). "Longest-Ever Serving State Attorney General Defeated in Iowa". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
- Gruber-Miller, Stephen (November 8, 2022). "Brenna Bird topples incumbent Tom Miller in Iowa attorney general race". Des Moines Register. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
- "Iowa won't pay for rape victims' abortions or contraceptives". Politico. Associated Press. April 9, 2023. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
- "About Attorney General Brenna Bird". iowaattorneygeneral.gov. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
- McIntosh, Sam (January 4, 2019). "Meet New Guthrie County Attorney Brenna Bird". Raccoon Valley Radio. Retrieved April 9, 2023.