Attorney General Brenna Bird joins anti-Biden lawsuits on first day

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird signed on to lawsuits challenging President Joe Biden's administration and Democratic-backed laws during her first day in office Tuesday.

Bird, a Republican who took over the office after defeating Democrat Tom Miller in the November election, made challenging the Biden administration in court a central plank of her campaign, along with her assertion she would "back the blue" and support law enforcement.

Bird signed onto a challenge led by Nebraska to Biden's student debt forgiveness plan, as well as lawsuits challenging vaccine mandates and challenging a provision of the American Rescue Plan Act that prevented states from using federal funds to cut state taxes.

Iowa had already been a party to the lawsuits Bird signed onto, her office said in a news release, but Miller had not attached his name to them.

Bird also appeared to represent Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds in her appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court seeking to reinstate Iowa's so-called "fetal heartbeat" law, which would make abortion illegal except in the earliest weeks of pregnancy.

Bird's office said she would begin a "top down and bottom up audit" of the office's victim services division.

The office also will more prosecutors to serve in the Statewide Prosecutions Section.

Susan Christensen reselected as Iowa Supreme Court chief justice

The Iowa Supreme Court reselected Chief Justice Susan Christensen to continue as chief justice for the next two years.

Christensen, of Harlan, was first selected as chief justice in 2020, succeeding Mark Cady, who died in 2019. She was appointed to the state’s highest court by Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds in 2018. She spent the previous 11 years as a judge and practiced law for 16 years in Harlan.

Christensen is the second woman to serve as the court’s chief justice.

"I am honored to be selected by my colleagues to continue to serve as Chief Justice of Iowa's court system," Christensen said in a news release. "In the beginning of my first term, the Governor’s Office and the Iowa Department of Public Health urged Iowans to prepare for COVID-19. Since then, I have seen the resilience and dedication of our judges and court staff. My pride in the judicial branch grows every day and I am grateful for the confidence my colleagues have placed in me and for the devoted work of all judicial branch employees across the state."

The chief justice sets the court’s oral argument schedule, delivers the state of the judiciary address to the Legislature each year, and presides over oral arguments and court conferences.

Republican leaders decline press group forum

The Iowa Capitol Press Association’s annual legislative preview forum was canceled this week after Gov. Kim Reynolds, Republican Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver and Republican House Speaker Pat Grassley declined to attend the forum.

The forum, previously held by the Associated Press, has been held for more than 20 years, giving Iowa reporters an opportunity to ask legislative leaders of both parties about their plans for the upcoming session.

“The Iowa Capitol Press Association is very disappointed with this decision by Republican statehouse leaders, a decision that continues an unsettling trend of reduced availability to Iowa journalists,” the association wrote in a news release. “The ICPA continues to believe elected officials who craft state laws and operate state government should be accessible to the journalists who monitor that work on behalf of all Iowans.”

The Iowa Capitol Press Association said in the release it hopes to resume the forum next year or at another time this year.

Grassley becomes longest-serving Republican senator

Iowa U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley became the longest-serving Senate Republican in U.S. history after being sworn into his eighth Senate term Tuesday. He surpassed Orrin Hatch, of Utah, who served from 1977 to 2019.

Grassley was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1980 and has held the seat for 42 years, making him the sixth longest-serving senator of either party.

Grassley, 89, also is the longest-serving sitting U.S. senator, replacing Democrat Patrick Leahy, who did not seek reelection and finished his 48-year tenure Tuesday. The feat grants Grassley the informal title of “dean of the Senate,” which is given to the chamber’s longest-serving member.

“Serving my fellow Iowans in the Senate continues to be an honor of a lifetime,” Grassley said in a statement provided by his office. “I love Iowa and I love my work for the people of Iowa. Today, Iowa holds the number one spot in the Senate with my leadership. I look forward to continuing to deliver for Iowa. I’m humbled and grateful to be entrusted with the honor to continue working for our great state.”

Reynolds to deliver Condition of the State address

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, will deliver her annual condition of the state address Jan. 10, the second day of the upcoming legislative session.

The address will take place at 6 p.m. in the House Chambers at the Iowa Capitol in Des Moines. It will be livestreamed on Iowa PBS, YouTube and the governor's Facebook page.

During the address, Reynolds will report on various aspects of state government and lay out her priorities for the legislative session.