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Brenna Bird

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Brenna Bird
34th Attorney General of Iowa
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2023
GovernorKim Reynolds
Preceded byTom Miller
Personal details
Born
Brenna Findley

1976 (age 48–49)[1]
Dexter, Iowa, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseBob Bird
EducationDrake University (BA)
University of Chicago (JD)
Signature

Brenna Bird (née Findley; born 1976) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as Iowa Attorney General since 2023. She is a member of the Republican Party.

Early life and education

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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.[2]

Career

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Bird spent more than seven years working for U.S. Representative Steve King (Jan 2003 - May 2010) rising to Chief of Staff. In the 2010 elections, Bird ran for Attorney General of Iowa. She lost to incumbent Tom Miller by 11 percent.[3] She considered running for the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2014 elections, but opted against running.[4] Bird served as counsel to Governor Terry Branstad. She was "county attorney in Fremont County, Audubon County"[5] and became county attorney for Guthrie County, Iowa in 2018.[6] In 2019, after hearing "six weeks of evidence, including testimony from Branstad and others" a jury ruled that Branstad and Bird (then known as "Brenna Findley") had discriminated against an employee in 2010-2011 because of his sexual orientation, and awarded him $1.5 million,[7] but the verdict was overturned by the Iowa Supreme Court in 2021.[8]

She ran against Miller in the 2022 Iowa Attorney General election.[9] She narrowly defeated Miller, who had served ten four-year terms as attorney general.[10][11]

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.[12]

Bird's office also filed or joined more than a dozen multi-state lawsuits against the Biden administration in 2023 and at least a dozen more in 2024.[13]

Bird's office also joined a suit, Texas v. Becerra, in the United States District Court Northern District Of Texas Lubbock Division asking the court to "vacate a federal rule prohibiting discrimination against disabled people in health care settings, [and] to declare a 1973 law known as Section 504 unconstitutional.[13]

Personal life

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Bird lives with her husband, Bob Bird,[14] and their son on her family farm in southeastern Guthrie County.[15] Bird is a member of the All Saints Church.[16]

References

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  1. ^ "Where Brenna Bird & Tom Miller stand on key issues in Iowa attorney general race". The Des Moines Register. October 4, 2022.
  2. ^ Anderson, Alex (April 21, 2013). "Q & A with Brenna Findley '01, Counsel to IA Governor Terry Branstad". The Collegian. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  3. ^ Gruber-Miller, Stephen (January 4, 2022). "Brenna Bird running for Iowa attorney general against Tom Miller". Des Moines Register. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "Bird makes run for Iowa Attorney General". www.swiowanewssource.com. January 28, 2022. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  6. ^ "Meet Iowa attorney general candidates in midterm elections 2022". Des Moines Register. October 4, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  7. ^ Sullivan, Kate (July 16, 2019). "Jury finds ex-Iowa governor discriminated against gay official". CNN. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  8. ^ Foley, Ryan (June 30, 2021). "Court overturns gay bias verdict against ex-Iowa governor". Associated Press News. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
  9. ^ "Brenna Bird wins Iowa attorney general race over longtime AG Tom Miller". Kcci.com. November 8, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  10. ^ Stern, Seth (November 9, 2022). "Longest-Ever Serving State Attorney General Defeated in Iowa". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  11. ^ Gruber-Miller, Stephen (November 8, 2022). "Brenna Bird topples incumbent Tom Miller in Iowa attorney general race". Des Moines Register. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  12. ^ "Iowa won't pay for rape victims' abortions or contraceptives". Politico. Associated Press. April 9, 2023. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  13. ^ a b Belin, Laura (February 16, 2025). "Brenna Bird Hid The Ball On Major Disability Case. Now She's Lying About It". www.bleedingheartland.com. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  14. ^ "About Attorney General Brenna Bird". iowaattorneygeneral.gov. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  15. ^ McIntosh, Sam (January 4, 2019). "Meet New Guthrie County Attorney Brenna Bird". Raccoon Valley Radio. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  16. ^ "About Attorney General Brenna Bird". www.iowaattorneygeneral.gov.
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Party political offices
Vacant
Title last held by
David Millage 		Republican nominee for Attorney General of Iowa
2010 		Succeeded by
Vacant
Title last held by
Adam Gregg 		Republican nominee for Attorney General of Iowa
2022 		Most recent
Legal offices
Preceded by Attorney General of Iowa
2023–present 		Incumbent
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