Andrew Bailey (politician)
Andrew Bailey | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 44th Attorney General of Missouri | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2023 | |
| Governor | Mike Parson |
| Preceded by | Eric Schmitt |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | University of Missouri (BA, JD) |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Battles/wars | Iraq War |
Andrew Bailey is an American attorney and politician. A Republican, he has served as Missouri Attorney General since appointment by Governor Mike Parson in January 2023.
Life and career before appointment as AG
Bailey earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Missouri on an Army ROTC scholarship. After earning his bachelor's degree, he was deployed to Iraq during the Iraq War. After his military career, he graduated from the University of Missouri School of Law. Bailey was general counsel of the Missouri Department of Corrections before joining the office of Governor Mike Parson as deputy general counsel. In 2021, he became Parson's general counsel.
Appointment and tenure as AG
Appointment as Attorney General
In November 2022, Parson appointed Bailey, then age 41, as the 44th attorney general of Missouri. He took office on January 3, 2023. As AG, Bailey moved aggressively to expand his powers, and used his post to pursue conservative "culture war" issues.
Abortion
Bailey opposes abortion. In 2023, Bailey asked the state auditor's office to change the "anticipated costs" section of a proposed ballot initiative to restore abortion rights in Missouri, one of several initiative petitions filed following a state ban.
After Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick (a Republican) classified the initiative as having an estimated impact of "no costs or savings," Bailey sought to change the estimate to "in the billions" and later claimed that restoring abortion rights would cost "upward of $12 billion." Fitzpatrick said that while he personally opposes abortion, there is no evidence that it would cost the state money. The Missouri Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Bailey had no authority to change the projected cost; in a July 2023 ruling, the Court wrote that Bailey improperly attempted to hold up the initiative, that his authority was to review the "legal content and form" (not the "substance") of the auditor's reports, and that Bailey had refused "to perform the plain, unequivocal and ministerial duty of approving those summaries."
Firearms
On March 7, 2023, federal judge Brian C. Wimes found a state law, signed by Parson, regulating cooperation with federal authorities on firearms issues, to be unconstitutional as a violation of the Supremacy Clause. Bailey said he would challenge the decision. Disappointed with Bailey's action, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said that Missouri officials had hoped, comparing Bailey to former attorney general, now-U.S. Senator, Eric Schmitt, that Bailey "...would approach the office like a grown-up."
Bailey pressured Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick to change his fiscal note on a ballot petition for firearm regulations. Bailey's proposed costs of $704 million includes costs associated to an estimated "additional 32 murders and 726 rapes" should stricter regulations be implemented. Fitzpatrick retained his original estimate, which Bailey then approved.
Gambling
Lawyers under Bailey's attorney general's office withdrew from a lawsuit related to unregulated slot machines. The plaintiffs, Torch Electronics and Warrenton Oil, have contributed to Bailey's 2024 Missouri Attorney General election campaign. In 2021, former attorney general Eric Schmitt returned contributions from Torch Electronics when conflict of interest concerns were raised, choosing to continue work on the case. Bailey's office did not respond to questions as to why Bailey's office chose to accept the money rather than withdraw from the case.
The games have come under scrutiny by Missouri Gaming Association, Missouri State Highway Patrol, and St. Louis County Board of Police Commissioners who have found a lack of clear legal guidance on the issue. Will Scharf, rival candidate for Attorney General, describes the games as "blatantly illegal" and within the scope of the office's responsibilities.
Media Matters
In 2023, Bailey opened a fraud investigation into the left-leaning Media Matters, alleging fraud in the organization's reports on placement of advertisements next to pro-Nazi content on Twitter.
Student debt relief
Bailey supports the lawsuit filed by former AG Eric Schmitt against the Biden student debt relief plan on behalf of MOHELA, a company contracted to handle student loan accounts. A federal judge in Missouri initially threw out the suit saying that the company was too far removed from the state of Missouri for the case to have standing, however federal appeals sent the case to the Supreme Court and froze student debt relief indefinitely. When asked about MOHELA's unpaid contributions to state higher aid funds since 2008, Bailey responded the issue is for the Supreme Court "to sort out." Advocates for student debt relief have argued that MOHELA's revenues would increase should the plan go through.
Transgender care bans
In April 2023, Bailey released an emergency rule requiring health care providers to screen individuals before providing gender-affirming health care to transgender people. The rule is believed would be the first such ban in the nation as it would apply to adults, rather than just children. The rule would have taken effect April 27 and expired in February 2024. Bailey justified the rule claiming that the medical procedures were "experimental" and required "substantial guardrails." This political intervention in medical care aligned with bills filed in other states, however Bailey escalated the process through his office's authority in Missouri Merchandising Practices Act.
The rule required healthcare providers to document gender dysphoria for a period of three years before prescribing puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones or gender-affirming surgery. Transgender individuals would be required to undergo 15 sessions with a psychologist or psychiatrist over at least 18 months before receiving care. The rule required providers to ensure "mental health comorbidities" have been "treated and resolved." The rule required providers to document that the patient has been screened for autism and social contagion and, for minors, social media addiction.
The rule was suspended while the ACLU, Lambda Legal, service providers, and community members challenged the rule in court. Bailey withdrew the rule in May, following the passage of a bill in Missouri legislature restricting care for transgender youth. Bailey announced intention to take legal action against Kansas City Police Department should they not enforce restrictions, however the police chief clarified that the matter was outside their jurisdiction since the provisions do not relate to criminal conduct.
In 2023, Bailey made 54 demands to the Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City for documents and testimony, although the hospital was not accused of any wrongdoing. In April 2023, Children's Mercy sued Bailey in state court, arguing that the demands exceeded Bailey's investigative authority and that release of the information demanded by Bailey would violate medical privacy laws, among other state and federal statutes.
Involvement in USA v. Trump
In December 2023, Bailey, representing Missouri, joined a multi-state amicus brief in the USA v. Trump case, supporting the position of the former president. The brief, led by Alabama, argued against the application of the Presidential Records Act to certain documents in the case. The Missouri Attorney General's Office published the brief online."States' Brief in USA v. Trump" (PDF). Missouri Attorney General's Office. December 20, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
2024 campaign
Bailey is campaigning for a full term as AG. In the Republican primary election, Bailey is being challenged by Will Scharf, a former assistant U.S. attorney and official in Eric Greitens' administration. Bailey's campaign is supported by the "Life and Liberty PAC" whose biggest donors are Pauline MacMillan Keinath of the Cargill family, and the family and associates of Michael Ketchmark; Scharf's campaign is being supported by the "Defend Missouri PAC" which is funded largely by the Judicial Crisis Network and other groups associated with conservative activist Leonard Leo.