Arkansas Chief Deputy Attorney General Bob Brooks Jr. dies, attorney general calls him irreplaceable
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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Republican Party of Arkansas is mourning the loss of a key figure who died over the weekend, following years of service at the national and state level.
Attorney General Tim Griffin’s office announced Sunday the death of Chief Deputy Attorney General Bob Brooks Jr. He was 61 when he died.
“If you gave me a billion dollars, I could not replace Bob Brooks,” Griffin said in an interview Tuesday.
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According to his obituary, Brooks was chief of staff for former Arkansas U.S. Rep. Jay Dickey before becoming appointed by former Gov. Mike Huckabee to be the director of the Arkansas Ethics Commission.
The obituary states that he then worked for the Republican National Committee, helping to oversee the 2000 Florida recount on behalf of the Bush-Cheney campaign. He would then serve as chief of staff to Jim McCrery, a former U.S. congressman and ranking member of the House Committee on Ways and Means
Brooks returned to Arkansas in 2020 to be closer to his family before Griffin would appoint him as chief deputy attorney general in January of 2023, his obituary says.
“I’m trying to just focus on how grateful I am to have had that year with him,” Griffin said.
Former Gov. Asa Hutchinson also weighed in on the death, speaking on his friendship with Brooks.
“He knew how to fight in the courtroom, but he was also somebody that could be a dear friend,” he said. “That’s what we’ll miss.”
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