Brenna Bird sworn in as Iowa Attorney General

DES MOINES — Brenna Bird, Iowa's new attorney general, took the oath of office in the Capitol on Thursday, formally swearing in as the state’s first Republican attorney general since 1979.

She was joined by Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds and former Gov. Terry Branstad, who praised her work as an attorney and in government. Bird was Branstad’s chief legal counsel from 2011 to 2015, and she was previously chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Steve King. Before becoming attorney general this week, Bird was most recently the Guthrie County Attorney.

She was sworn in by Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Susan Christensen.

Speaking to the crowd gathered at the Capitol Thursday, Reynolds said Bird stood out in Branstad’s administration when Reynolds was lieutenant governor. On the 2022 campaign trail, Reynolds said she was again impressed by Bird.

“As I watched her with Iowans, watched her sharing her vision for the AG’s office and truly her passion to serve, it was clear that all these years later, this servant leader hasn’t changed a bit,” Reynolds said.

The governor highlighted Bird’s campaign pledge to challenge President Joe Biden’s administration. Reynolds said federal leaders have overstepped their bounds and Bird will work to keep the federal government in check.

“We’re all familiar with that defiant declaration on our state seal: ‘Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain,’” she said. “The position of AG is one of the main tools the people of Iowa have that makes good on this promise.”

Bird campaigned on a message of challenging Biden’s administration, and on Tuesday signed onto a series of lawsuits against rules set by Biden and national Democratic lawmakers. The state was already a party to those suits, but former Democratic Attorney General Tom Miller did not attach his name to them.

Bird narrowly defeated Democrat Tom Miller in the November election, a victory that was marked by a large swing toward Republicans statewide and heavy support from Reynolds.

In her new role, Bird said she is committed to upholding the state laws and the U.S. Constitution.

“I’m going to serve all Iowans, whether folks voted for me or not,” she said Thursday. “I’m here to work for everybody and serve everybody.”

Miller attended the event, and Bird thanked him for aiding her team as she transitions into the office. Miller said in a statement last week he was thankful to Iowans for giving him a record-setting 40 years in the office.

“We did it our way,” he said. “We never compromised on our values and principles. That is enormously satisfying to me.”

In addition to joining anti-Biden lawsuits, Bird announced a “top down and bottom up audit” of the office’s victim-services division.

“[I am] thankful to work with our prosecutors and law enforcement and crime victims, uphold the constitution,” she said at the Capitol Thursday. “Just looking forward to getting back to work.”