What has Iowa AG Brenna Bird sued the feds over in her first year? Quite a lot

Attorney General Brenna Bird hasn't been shy about letting the Biden administration know what she thinks.

Since taking office in January 2023 after defeating incumbent Democrat Tom Miller, Iowa's first Republican attorney general in 44 years has kept busy litigating against the federal government, either joining cases brought by other conservative-leaning states or filing her own lawsuits.

Bird ran for election promising the Biden administration to "see you in court," and over her first year she's done so on topics ranging from ethanol sales to cybersecurity regulations to the prosecution of former President Donald Trump.

Her record, in cases that have reached a decision, is mixed, with wins in some cases as high up as the U.S. Supreme Court and proposed regulations withdrawn. Other arguments have been rejected by judges or overturned on appeal.

Nor is she solely concerned with perceived federal overreach. A review of her first year shows her actively engaging in a range of social and political controversies, intervening in lawsuits as far away as California and sending threatening letters to social media companies, investment firms and others.

Here's how Bird has worked to create a national impact in her first year on the job.

More than a dozen cases against federal agencies

Based on court filings and media releases from the Attorney General's Office, the Register has counted at least 12 lawsuits Bird's office has brought, joined, or filed briefs in against the federal government.

That list is not complete. Bird's news releases mention at least four other lawsuits, three challenging vaccine mandates and one involving tax policy in the American Rescue Plan Act, that the Des Moines Register could not match to court filings. A spokesperson for Bird did not respond to inquiries about those cases, and the Register has filed a records request seeking a more complete list of Bird's lawsuits.

December 2022: After ousting Tom Miller, Brenna Bird charts new direction as Iowa attorney general

Bird's lawsuits run the gamut of conservative policy concerns. She's sued the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives over regulating pistol braces; the Department of Homeland Security over border enforcement policy ― twice; the Department of Labor over a rule permitting pensions to invest in "Environmental Social Governance" funds; and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over proposed water-quality regulations.

While other states have led many of those cases, Iowa has been among the lead plaintiffs in several. Those include lawsuits against the EPA to demand year-round sale of E15 ethanol, a blend that's usually off the market in summer because of smog concerns, and to block California state rules requiring earlier adoption of electric trucks. She also co-led the filing of an amicus brief opposing a gag order imposed on Trump in his Washington, D.C., federal trial on charges of attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Related: Iowa joins pork producers’ court challenge of Massachusetts law

In addition to lawsuits, Bird has written or signed on to a number of letters opposing or threatening litigation over federal policies, including proposed Department of Energy regulations on gas stoves and suggestions that Biden might attempt to raise the national debt limit without congressional action.

A growing trend of states suing the feds

Bird's focus on litigation against the federal government is not unique. The past two decades have seen a rapid growth in lawsuits waged by coalitions of states against presidential administrations of the opposite party. At least 60 have been filed so far against Biden administration, although that falls well short of the 160 multistate lawsuits challenging Trump policies, according to records tracked by AttorneysGeneral.org.

Marquette University professor Paul Nolette, who runs the website, told the Register that state attorneys general are becoming more and more aggressive in tackling a broader portfolio of policy issues.

"Since the Obama administration, certainly with Trump and now Biden, you see (attorneys general) getting involved in numerous policy areas, immigration, health care, as well as the environment, civil rights. The list goes on and on," Nolette said. "And that’s something we’re seeing in the Biden administration, continuing a trend toward more partisan and more comprehensive activism."

Attorneys general have numerous incentives to file such lawsuits, he said. Not only do they often draw media attention and votes from partisan supporters, but they usually win. Republicans so far have won more than 75% of their cases against Biden, down slightly from Democrats' 83% win rate against Trump.

That's in part because a multistate coalition of attorneys general has the advantage of being able to choose a favorable venue to bring its case, Nolette said. It's no coincidence that, of the lawsuits Bird has joined, half are being heard by a handful of federal judges in deeply conservative Texas and North Dakota.

Beyond the feds: Bird takes stands in other states

While Biden has been Bird's primary nemesis, she's also involved her office in a number of disputes in other states.

Bird's office has joined amicus briefs in a California federal lawsuit opposing a school district's policy of withholding information about student's pronoun preference and gender presentation from parents, and in Massachusetts against regulations imposing new animal welfare requirements for pork sold in the state.

She's also sent or signed onto a number of sternly worded letters to major companies. In March, she joined 45 other attorneys general demanding that TikTok comply with an investigation into alleged violations of consumer protection laws. In October, she signed on to a letter to PornHub accusing the company of failing to police child pornography on its platform. And in December, Iowa was one of the lead states on a letter accusing the New York Times and other media outlets of having illegal ties with terrorist groups such as Hamas ― a claim they denied.

On Jan. 17, she announced her first lawsuit of 2024, accusing TikTok of violating the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act by listing itself as safe for teenagers on app stores.

So far, a mixed record in court

While most of Bird's lawsuits are still working their way through the courts, she's tallied several wins and losses.

In the former column, Bird signed on to represent the state in the lawsuit that ultimately led the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Biden's plan to cancel a large portion of student loan debts.

Another lawsuit ended in the government backing away from a proposed regulations imposing new cybersecurity requirements on small utility providers.

On the other hand, courts have denied injunctions in lawsuits challenging a rule regulating as short-barreled rifles pistols equipped with stabilizing braces and opposing letting pension plans invest in the so-called ESG funds. Both have been appealed, and an appellate court in another case has suggested the pistol rule is likely illegal. Iowa also failed to persuade an appellate court that a gag order on Trump in his pending criminal case was unconstitutional.

Court actions announced, except on abortion issues

While Bird's office regularly issues news releases announcing new court filings and multistate letters, the Register has identified at least two actions that came with no public fanfare, both involving abortion.

In February, Bird was one of 20 attorneys general to sign Missouri-led letters to Walgreens and CVS warning the companies not to distribute abortion medications by mail. The two pharmacy giants have promised not to do so in those 20 states.

Weeks later, Iowa joined a 22-state amicus brief filed in a Texas federal lawsuit seeking to overturn the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval of mifepristone, one of the drugs used in medication abortions.

"As the Supreme Court recognized, it is the responsibility of elected representatives in states — not unelected bureaucrats in federal agencies — to strike the balance between 'competing interests' on abortion," the states argued. "The FDA’s actions (approving and expanding access to mifepristone) seek to override the balance properly struck by states."

A district judge initially sided with the plaintiffs, and with Iowa, by pausing the FDA's approval of mifepristone. An appellate court later partly reversed that order, and the issue is now pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Bird's office did not respond to questions about why it did not announce the abortion letters and court brief, or whether it has joined any other letters or cases without issuing news releases. The Register has requested records of any such letters or court filings.

Reproductive health care has been a sensitive issue for Bird, who early in her administration paused the longstanding practice of paying for sexual assault victims' morning-after pills. That change was made pursuant to what Bird called an audit of the state's victim services, but more than a year later, her office has refused to release any findings or updates in connection with that audit.

William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com or 715-573-8166.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa Attorney General Bird makes good on threats to sue Biden