President Donald Trump has chosen a senior deputy of Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird to serve as U.S. attorney for northern Iowa.
Leif Olson has served as chief deputy attorney general in Bird’s office since August 2023, and came to Iowa after a two-year stint with the Texas attorney general that included serving as chief of special litigation. His nomination was announced Tuesday by Sen. Chuck Grassley, and he comes endorsed by both Grassley and Sen. Joni Ernst.
The U.S. attorney is the senior federal prosecutor and legal officer in their district, responsible for overseeing criminal cases and representing the United States in civil matters. The Northern District of Iowa covers 53 counties and includes the cities of Cedar Rapids, Dubuque and Sioux City.
Olson, in a statement released by the Iowa Attorney General’s Office said he was “humbled” by Trump’s nomination and thanked Grassley and Ernst for their endorsements.
“The opportunity to serve Iowa and our nation is a blessing,” he said.
Bird also voiced her support, saying in a statement that Olson “will work hard as U.S. Attorney to uphold our laws and constitution as a prosecutor.”
“He supports our law enforcement and will work to keep Iowans safe and protect victims of crime,” Bird said. “Leif brings leadership, knowledge, and passion for the rule of law to this new position.”
Who is Leif Olson?
Olson, according to his LinkedIn profile, obtained his law degree in 2001 from the University of Chicago, and spent 15 years in private practice in Texas before entering public service.
Olson’s first government role, aside from a federal clerkship as a junior attorney, came in 2019 when he joined the U.S. Department of Labor as a senior adviser. There, he briefly became the center of a national controversy when Bloomberg Law found what it characterized as anti-Semitic posts on Olson’s Facebook page.
Olson resigned from the department when Bloomberg inquired about the posts, and Bloomberg later published an article about them, but the posts were found to be clearly satirical and meant to mock anti-Semitism. Olson was reinstated at the department, and Bloomberg apologized and retracted the story.
Olson left the federal government at the end of the first Trump administration and went to the Texas Attorney General, where his division worked on “particularly sensitive and noteworthy cases” focused on “policing the boundaries of legitimate government action,” a post that saw him frequently litigating against the Biden administration.
Nominees pending for both Iowa prosecutor posts
Olson’s nomination comes a month after Trump nominated Davenport attorney David Waterman as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Iowa, which includes the Des Moines metro.
Neither district has had a Senate-confirmed U.S. attorney since the conclusion of Trump’s first term. Biden did not announce his nominees for the districts (including Waterman) until more than three years into his term, and the Senate did not act on either nomination before Biden left office.
Both Waterman and Olson have the endorsements of both Iowa senators, which will likely smooth their paths to approval. Particularly significant is the support of Grassley, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which considers nominees before transmitting their nomination to the full Senate for approval.
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: Trump nominates Brenna Bird deputy Leif Olson as top federal prosecutor for northern Iowa
Reporting by William Morris, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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