Andrew Bailey (born 1981) is an American attorney and politician who currently serves as the
Missouri Attorney General
The Office of the Missouri Attorney General was created in 1806 when Missouri was part of the Louisiana Territory. Missouri's first Constitution in 1820 provided for an appointed attorney general, but since the 1865 Constitution, the Attorney Gene ...
, an office he assumed by appointment in January 2023.
Education
Bailey earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...
and a
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
from the
University of Missouri School of Law
The University of Missouri School of Law (Mizzou Law or MU Law) is the law school of the University of Missouri. It is located on the university's main campus in Columbia, forty minutes from the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City. The sc ...
.
Career
After earning his bachelor's degree, Bailey joined the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
as an officer. During his military career, he was deployed to
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
. After graduating from law school, Bailey served as an assistant prosecuting attorney in the
Warren County Warren County is the name of fourteen counties in the USA. Some are named after General Joseph Warren, who was killed in the Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolutionary War:
* Warren County, Georgia
* Warren County, Illinois
* Warren County ...
Prosecuting Attorney's Office and as general counsel of the
Missouri Department of Corrections
The Missouri Department of Corrections is the state law enforcement agency that operates state prisons in the U.S. state of Missouri. It has its headquarters in Missouri's capital of Jefferson City, Missouri, Jefferson City.
The Missouri Depart ...
.
Bailey joined the office of Governor
Mike Parson
Michael Lynn Parson (born September 17, 1955) is an American politician serving as the 57th governor of Missouri since 2018. A member of the Republican Party, Parson served in the Missouri House of Representatives from 2005 to 2011 and in the ...
as deputy general counsel in 2019 and became general counsel in 2021. In November 2022, Governor Parson appointed Bailey as the 44th attorney general of Missouri. He is a Republican candidate for a full term in the
2024 Missouri Attorney General election
The 2024 Missouri Attorney General election will be held on November 5, 2024, to elect the Missouri Attorney General, attorney general of the U.S. state, state of Missouri. It will coincide with the concurrent 2024 United States presidential ele ...
.
Bailey's campaign is supported by the Life and Liberty PAC whose biggest donors are
Pauline MacMillan Keinath
Pauline MacMillan Keinath (born July 31, 1934 in Hennepin County, Minnesota) is an American billionaire heiress.
She is a great-granddaughter of William Wallace Cargill, the founder of Cargill, the largest private company in the US. Her father w ...
of the
Cargill family
The Cargill family, also known as the Cargill-MacMillan family, refers to the multi-generational descendants of the American business executive William Wallace Cargill (December 15, 1844 – October 17, 1909) and his son-in-law John H. MacMillan ...
, and the family and associates of Michael Ketchmark.
Abortion
Bailey opposes
abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
. In 2023 it was reported that he requested the
state auditor's office to change anticipated costs related to an initiative petition from the original estimate of “no costs or savings” to "in the billions." The
initiative petition
In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a pu ...
is one of several submitted with the AG office to protect
abortion in Missouri
Abortion in Missouri is illegal except in cases of medical emergency. In 2014, a poll by the Pew Research Center found that 52% of Missouri adults said that abortion should be legal vs. 46% that believe it should be illegal in all or most cases. ...
following a state ban. Auditor
Scott Fitzpatrick
Scott Fitzpatrick (born September 28, 1987) is an American politician serving as the State Auditor of Missouri following the 2022 election. He previously served as Missouri State Treasurer. He represented Missouri's 158th District in the Missouri ...
told reporters that while he personally opposes abortion, there is no evidence that it would cost the state money.
Firearms
On March 7, 2023, federal judge
Brian C. Wimes
Brian Curtis Wimes (born January 18, 1966) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri. Despite his dual appointme ...
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
The Supremacy Clause of the Constitution of the United States ( Article VI, Clause 2) establishes that the Constitution, federal laws made pursuant to it, and treaties made under its authority, constitute the "supreme Law of the Land", and thu ...
. Bailey said he would challenge the decision and Republican congressman
Eric Burlison
Eric Wayne Burlison (born October 2, 1976) is an American politician who currently serves as the U.S. representative from Missouri's 7th congressional district since 2023. He previously served as the representative for District 133 ( Greene Coun ...
denigrated the decision as being understandable supposedly because Wimes was an appointee of President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
.
[ Disappointed with Bailey's action, ]Kansas City
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
Mayor Quinton Lucas
Quinton Donald Lucas (born August 19, 1984) is an American politician serving as the 55th mayor of Kansas City, Missouri. He was elected in 2019. He is affiliated with the Democratic party and is the city's third African-American mayor. Before hi ...
said that Missouri officials had hoped, comparing Bailey to former attorney general, now-U.S. Senator, Eric Schmitt
Eric Stephen Schmitt (born June 20, 1975) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Missouri since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Schmitt served as a Missouri state senator from 2009 to 2017, ...
, that Bailey "...would approach the office like a grown-up."
Gambling
Lawyers under Bailey's attorney general's office withdrew from a lawsuit related to unregulated slot machines. The plaintiffs, Torch Electronics
A torch is a stick with combustible material at one end, which is ignited and used as a light source. Torches have been used throughout history, and are still used in processions, symbolic and religious events, and in juggling entertainment. In ...
and Warrenton Oil Warrenton may refer to the following places:
South Africa
* Warrenton, Northern Cape, a town
United States
* Warrenton, Georgia, a city
* Warrenton, Indiana, an extinct town
* Warrenton, Gibson County, Indiana, an unincorporated town
* Warrenton, ...
, have contributed to Bailey's 2024 Missouri Attorney General election
The 2024 Missouri Attorney General election will be held on November 5, 2024, to elect the Missouri Attorney General, attorney general of the U.S. state, state of Missouri. It will coincide with the concurrent 2024 United States presidential ele ...
campaign. In 2021, former attorney general Eric Schmitt
Eric Stephen Schmitt (born June 20, 1975) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Missouri since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Schmitt served as a Missouri state senator from 2009 to 2017, ...
returned contributions from Torch Electronics when conflict of interest
A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...
concerns were raised, choosing to continue work on the case. Bailey's spokesperson Madeline Sieren did not respond to questions as to why Bailey's office chose to accept the money rather than withdraw from the case.
Student debt relief
Bailey supports the lawsuit filed by former AG Eric Schmitt
Eric Stephen Schmitt (born June 20, 1975) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Missouri since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Schmitt served as a Missouri state senator from 2009 to 2017, ...
against the Biden student debt
Student debt is a form of debt that is owed by an attending, formerly withdrawn, or graduated student to a lending institution, or to a financial institution.
The amount that is loaned, often referred to as a ''student loan'' or the debts may be ...
relief plan on behalf of MOHELA
The Higher Education Loan Authority of the State of Missouri, aka the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority or MOHELA, is one of the largest holders and servicers of student loans in the United States. Its headquarters are in St. Louis, Mis ...
, 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
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
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
A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...
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've 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
Gender dysphoria (GD) is the distress a person experiences due to a mismatch between their gender identitytheir personal sense of their own genderand their sex assigned at birth. The diagnostic label gender identity disorder (GID) was used until ...
for a period of three years before prescribing puberty blocker
Puberty blockers, also called puberty inhibitors or hormone blockers, are medicines used to postpone puberty in children. The most commonly used puberty blockers are gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists, which suppress the production ...
s, cross-sex hormones or gender-affirming surgery
Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a transgender or transsexual person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their identified gender, and alle ...
. 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
The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...
and social contagion
Social contagion involves behaviour, emotions, or conditions spreading spontaneously through a group or network. The phenomenon has been discussed by social scientists since the late 19th century, although much work on the subject was based on un ...
and, for minors, social media addiction
Relationships between digital media use and mental health have been considerably researched, debated, and discussed among experts in several disciplines. Research suggests that mental health issues arising from social media use affect women more ...
.
The rule was suspended while the ACLU
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
, Lambda Legal
Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, better known as Lambda Legal, is an American civil rights organization that focuses on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities as well as people living with HIV/ AIDS ( PWAs) through i ...
, 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
Transgender youth are children or adolescents who do not identify with the sex they were assigned at birth. Because transgender youth are usually dependent on their parents for care, shelter, financial support, and other needs, transgender yo ...
. Bailey announced intention to take legal action against Kansas City Police Department
The Kansas City Police Department (KCPD) is the principal law enforcement agency serving Kansas City, Missouri. Jackson County 16th Circuit Court Circuit Court Judge Jen Phillips swore in Stacey Graves as the 46th chief of police of the KCPD on ...
should they not enforce restrictions, however the police chief clarified that the matter was outside their jurisdiction
Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels.
Jur ...
since the provisions do not relate to criminal conduct.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Andrew
Living people
Missouri Attorneys General
Missouri lawyers
Missouri Republicans
United States Army officers
Military personnel from Missouri
University of Missouri School of Law alumni
1981 births
21st-century American politicians
21st-century American lawyers
21st-century American military personnel