Brian J. Rooney

Brian Rooney (born October 28, 1972) is a constitutional attorney with the Thomas More Law Center. Rooney, a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, is currently running for Congress in Michigan’s 7th congressional district.
Personal Life
Brian Rooney received a Bachelor in Arts in History from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts in 1995. While at Williams College, Brian participated as a four year student-athlete on the Williams College NCAA Division III football team that went undefeated his senior year. Brian Rooney enrolled in and attended the Florida State University, College of Law and received his law degree in 1999.
Rooney and his wife Tiffany were high school sweethearts. Their third son Blaise was born with a congenital heart defect and required numerous surgeries at the University of Michigan's Mott Children Hospital to survive. Brian and Tiffany currently live in Dexter, Michigan in Washtenaw County, Michigan with their three children.
Brian Rooney is the younger brother of , a congressman from Florida's 16th congressional district.
Rooney’s grandfather, Art Rooney, founded the Pittsburgh Steelers. His family still owns the Steelers. Brian replaced his father Patrick Rooney, Sr., on the Board of Directors for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Military Service
While still in law school, Rooney joined the United States Marine Corps and went to Officer Candidate School. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant upon graduation in 1999. Following completion of The Basic Course in Quantico, Virginia in October of 2000, and the Naval Justice School in December of 2000, Brian Rooney was assigned to the Joint Law Center, Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona in January 2001. Brian was promoted to the rank of in August of 2001. He served as the Senior Defense Counsel for the majority of his tour in Yuma, and received a prestigious medal from the United States Secretary of the Navy for his work there.
Captain Rooney transferred to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in August of 2003 and was assigned as the Senior Prosecutor for a year. Captain Rooney deployed with the Third Marine Aircraft Wing as the Deputy In-House Counsel in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. While in Iraq, Captain Rooney was sent to assist the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit in Najaf, Iraq to help rebuild the city and win the hearts and minds of the inhabitants.
Captain Rooney was later assigned to Regimental Combat Team-1 (1st Marine Division) as the Deputy In-House Counsel for over a month to help in re-populating, rebuilding, and winning the hearts and minds of the populace during and after the second battle for Fallujah, Iraq. Captain Rooney was tasked with primarily designing, planning, and implementing the largest Humanitarian Assistance site in Fallujah to process over 25,000 refugees back into the city after the battle. Captain Rooney was awarded a prestigious medal from the United States Secretary of the Navy for his work in Iraq.
Upon Captain Rooney’s return stateside, he was maintained as the Deputy In-House Counsel for the Third Marine Air Wing for six additional months. Captain Rooney also served as the Chief Prosecutor (Military Justice Officer) for Marine Corps Air Station Miramar during this same six-month period. Captain Rooney resigned his commission from the United States Marine Corps on October 1, 2006 and received an honorable discharge. Upon completion of this tour, Captain Rooney was awarded a third prestigious medal from the United States Secretary of the Navy. Brian is now a Major in the United States Marine Corps Reserve.
Post-Military Career
After resigning his military commission in 2006, Rooney took a position at the Thomas More Law Center, a public-interest, non-profit, Catholic law firm in Ann Arbor, Michigan to defend the same values he fought for as a United States Marine. The Thomas More Law Center is a conservative law firm dedicated to defending the sanctity of human life, traditional family values, religious freedom, and maintaining a strong national defense. Brian accepted a position as attorney and spokesman at the law center to help raise awareness for the Christian issues advocated by the Law Center.
As an attorney and spokesman for the Thomas More Law Center, Rooney defended Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani of the alleged Haditha Killings. A military judge later dismissed the charges against Chessani without prejudice.
2010 Congressional Elections
On November 5, 2009, Rooney officially announced his intention to run for the United States House of Representatives and unseat incumbent Democrat Rep. Mark Schauer in the 2010 midterm elections.
Many national analysts and pundits believe that Rooney would pose a serious threat to incumbent Democrat Rep. Mark Schauer in November. David Wasserman, an analyst for the Cook Political Report, was quoted as saying "Walberg has to prove that GOP primary voters aren't itching for a fresh face” and “Schauer probably has a better shot of holding on if Walberg is the GOP nominee."
Rooney's campaign announced in January that it had raised $215,000 in the last quarter of 2009. These strong fundraising numbers came only two months after Rooney announced his candidacy. In April, Rooney's campaign reported raising more than $320,000 in the 1st quarter of 2010. With these strong fundraising numbers, Rooney leads former Rep. Tim Walberg in funds raised and cash on hand. Rooney leads Walberg in cash on hand by $73,473.
On 2010 April 10, Rooney was the only Republican candidate from Michigan's 7th congressional district to speak to the Tea Party Express rally at the steps of the Michigan State Capitol building in Lansing, Michigan.
On 2010 April 16, Rooney was endorsed by Mike Stahly at the Branch County Lincoln Day Dinner. Stahly, a Potterville, Michigan city councilman, was a Republican candidate for Michigan's 7th congressional district.
On 2010 April 19, Rooney announced that his campaign has achieved "Contender" status in the National Republican Congressional Committee's Young Guns Program. "Contender" status is the second tier of the three tiered program aimed at assisting candidates in their campaigns. According to the campaign's press release, achieving the second-tier status is recognition of the campaign's fundraising and operational effectiveness.
Issues
As a United States Marine Corps veteran and current reservist, Rooney said that he has a particular interest in veterans' issues. This is important given that Michigan's 7th congressional district has a high number of veterans and active-duty military servicemen and servicewomen.
Numerous prominent military veterans and veterans organizations have announced their support of Brian Rooney's campaign for Congress including retired Rear Admiral and Senator Jeremiah Denton, Vets for Freedom, Iraq Veterans for Congress, and Combat Veterans for Congress.
Rooney was the first Republican candidate to announce his position on the Asian carps invasion of Michigan's lakes and rivers. He favors a short-term separation of the locks connecting Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River that were created by engineers in Chicago over a century ago. Rooney criticized long-term studies and other solutions proposed by Rep. Mark Schauer, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and President Barack Obama as ineffective and a waste of $80 million dollars.

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