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Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds stopped AG from joining anti-Trump suits

Kim Reynolds
Posted at 12:42 PM, Aug 03, 2020
and last updated 2020-08-03 13:42:12-04

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s Republican governor has rejected two-thirds of the Democratic state attorney general’s requests to join multistate lawsuits.

Gov. Kim Reynolds' actions were made possible by an unusual compromise that has allowed her to repeatedly block the state’s involvement in challenges to Trump administration policies. Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller agreed in May 2019 to seek Reynolds’ approval before he would join multistate lawsuits, and Reynolds in turn vetoed a Republican-backed bill that would have prevented the state’s top lawyer from joining any multistate suit unless the governor or Legislature requested it.

Miller says the compromise importantly is temporary and won't hamstring future Iowa attorneys general.