During the height of our conflict in Iraq, Brian Rooney’s public service didn’t mean talking – it meant fighting as a United States Marine. It meant hard service in the Iraqi desert and infamous kill zones like Fallujah and Najaf. Brian Rooney has spent his life doing the right thing for this country: defending our freedom on the battlefield, and defending our conservative values in the courtroom. Now, Brian wants to take that fighting spirit where we need it most – to Congress.
Brian Rooney was born into a famous football family. His grandfather, Art Rooney, founded one of professional football’s most storied franchises – the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, Brian is more than a fan and Steelers’ Board Member, having played four years of NCAA football at Williams College on a team that went undefeated his senior year.
After earning his undergraduate degree, Brian went on to study Constitutional law at Florida State University. Years of studying the Founding Fathers’ writings further excited Brian’s passion and respect for America’s freedoms, secured by limited government. So did his belief that it was our obligation to protect these freedoms at home and abroad.
While still in law school, Brian joined the Marine Corps, went to Officer Candidate School, and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant. Graduating in 1999, he entered the Marine Corps and was soon promoted to the rank of Captain, becoming a military criminal prosecutor. After 9/11, Brian renewed his commitment to the Marine Corps. Instead of sitting this war out, Brian led from the front by going to the front.
In 2004 he deployed to Iraq as part of the Third Marine Aircraft Wing, where he assisted the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit ‘win hearts and minds’ in Najaf. He was then assigned to the 1st Marine Division for a similar role during and after the Second Battle for Fallujah. He was decorated three times for his service.
After resigning his Marine commission, Brian took a position at the Thomas More Law Center to help defend the same conservative philosophy he fought for in Iraq. This Catholic law firm is dedicated to defending the sanctity of life, traditional family values, religious freedom, and maintaining a strong national defense.
After the birth of his third child, Blaise, Brian and his family experienced what no parent should have to endure. Due to a congenital heart defect, Blaise spent the first three months of his life undergoing numerous surgeries in order to survive. Thanks to the outstanding care provided right here in Michigan, Brian and his family were able to bring their boy home.
After being blessed with such tremendous results with his son and experiencing such a positive outcome as a result of working within the opportunities provided right here in Michigan, Brian decided that enough was enough. He could not sit idly by and watch career politicians both in Michigan and in Washington diminish the great opportunities that are available to us as a state and as a country. Looking to make his home of Michigan a better and more fruitful place than when he first moved here, Brian announced his candidacy for Michigan’s 7th Congressional District.
Brian and his wife, Tiffany, were high school sweethearts. They live in Dexter, MI with their three children, Silas, Eleanor, and Blaise.