Hunter
12/31/22
The new Iowa Attorney General wants to clean house.
The Gazette reports that Brenna Bird, the Republican who defeated longtime Attorney General Tom Miller in the November election, has asked for the resignation of 19 current staffers, including many in leadership positions but also some longtime staff attorneys, according to Lynn Hicks, a spokesperson for the office who was among those asked to resign.
Sam Langholz is the former senior counsel for Governor Kim Reynolds and the new chief deputy AG. He wrote the letter, which states that Bird is realigning the office by building a team that matches her vision for the office. The staffers asked to resign were asked to do so no later than 8:30 am Tuesday. By resigning on that date and time, the staffers would still get holiday pay, regular pay for Tuesday and health insurance coverage for the remainder of January.
The 19 are less than ten percent of total staff. Iowa Capital Disptatch reports that among those asked to resign was Mari Culver, an assistant AG who specialized in licensing and administrative law, and the wife of former Democratic governor Chet Culver. It’s also reported that first assistant attorney general Matt Gannon wrote in his resignation letter, “I wish you success. I have my doubts.”