Iowa AG Bird pledges to ‘pull the curtain back’ on UI during DEI investigation

ADEL — During a campaign fundraiser Saturday, Republican Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird pledged to conduct a thorough investigation of the University of Iowa over its workers’ adherence to a new state law that bans diversity, equity and inclusion policies and programs.

Bird said Saturday night the investigation will “pull that curtain back and get some sunlight” on the University of Iowa and cautioned that it will take some time to complete.

The investigation was one of the topics Bird addressed during her remarks to a crowd of roughly 200 at her annual “Barn Bash” fundraiser Saturday night at the Dallas County Fairgrounds.

In an apparently undercover video, which aired on Fox News, a University of Iowa staffer can be seen rebuffing the new state law and explaining possible ways university staff is working around it. Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds filed a complaint and Bird’s office opened an investigation.

Bird pledged her office’s investigation will “get all the way to the bottom” and include an examination of any relevant documents.

“Instead of changing and following the law, according to the video, it looks like they just renamed it and just kept on doing what they wanted to do in the first place and are aware of it,” Bird said. “So we have launched an investigation. We’re going to get to the bottom of it.”

Bird cautioned that the investigation “is going to take a little bit.”

“We’re going to do it by the book and by the law, and you will see the result of the investigation,” Bird said. “Because here in Iowa, our taxpayer-funded universities are supposed to be about education, not indoctrination.”

A second UI staffer was placed on leave after a second video appeared in another media outlet.

Bird was first elected in 2022, when she ousted Democrat Tom Miller, who was the longest-serving state attorney general in U.S. history.

Earlier this year Bird considered running for governor — the state will have an open-seat campaign for governor in 2026 after Reynolds, who has held the post since 2017, announced earlier this year she will not seek re-election. But Bird announced in early July that she will instead run for re-election as Iowa Attorney General.

Nate Willems, a lawyer and former state legislator from Mount Vernon, is running for Iowa Attorney General as a Democrat.

“I think 2026 is going to be a pivotal election, and there’s nothing that we can take for granted,” Bird said. “Last time we kind of caught them napping, the Attorney General’s Office, a little bit. But this time around, they’ve already had a candidate running against me for the last three months, a liberal out of Eastern Iowa.

“So we’re going to work hard, we’re going to do a good job, and I’m going to run on the record of my work on behalf of Iowa.”

Bird highlighted her office’s lawsuits against former Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration, including over water regulations, electric vehicles and student loan debt; the doubling of the number of prosecutors in the AG’s Office; increased penalties for individuals who assault first responders; a new office dedicated to investigating cold cases; and educating and warning seniors about scams.

“We love helping people, and we want to make things right, love getting to uphold the Constitution (and) the laws of our state,” Bird said. “That’s exactly the kind of work that I always hoped I would get to do when I got to go to law school.”

U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Eric Schmitt of Missouri were scheduled to appear at the fundraiser but could not make it because the Senate worked Saturday night to vote for judicial nominees.

Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com

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