Brenna Bird
American politician (born 1976)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Brenna Bird (née Findley; born 1976)[1] is an American lawyer and politician who has served as Iowa Attorney General since 2023. She is a member of the Republican Party.
Brenna Bird | |
|---|---|
Bird in 2024 | |
| 33rd Attorney General of Iowa | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2023 | |
| Governor | Kim Reynolds |
| Preceded by | Tom Miller |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Brenna Findley 1976 (age 49–50) Dexter, Iowa, U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse | Bob Bird |
| Education | Drake University (BA) University of Chicago (JD) |
| Signature |  |
Early life and education
Bird grew up on a farm near Dexter, Iowa. She earned her bachelor's degree from Drake University and her J.D. degree from the University of Chicago Law School in 2001.[2]
Career
From 2003 to 2010, Bird worked for U.S. Representative Steve King, including serving as his 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,"[7] 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,[8] but the verdict was overturned by the Iowa Supreme Court in 2021.[7]
She ran against[9] Miller in the 2022 Iowa Attorney General election.[10] She narrowly defeated Miller, who had served ten four-year terms as attorney general.[11][12]
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.[13]
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.[14]
Bird's office also joined a suit, Texas v. Becerra,[15] 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.[14][15]
On July 2, 2025, Bird confirmed that she is not running for governor and instead is running for re-election.[16]
Personal life
Bird lives with her husband, Bob Bird,[17] and their son on her family farm in southeastern Guthrie County.[18] Bird is a member of the All Saints Church.[19]
Electoral history
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Tom Miller (incumbent) | 607,779 | 55.5% | |
| Republican | Brenna Findley | 486,057 | 44.4% | |
| Write-in | 797 | 0.07% | ||
| Total votes | 1,094,633 | 100.0% | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Brenna Bird | 611,432 | 50.8% | |
| Democratic | Tom Miller (incumbent) | 590,890 | 49.1% | |
| Write-in | 801 | 0.07% | ||
| Total votes | 1,203,123 | 100.00% | ||
| Republican gain from Democratic | ||||