Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird has said she plans to sue California, escalating a dispute over the state's lawsuit opposing the proposed Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger. In an op-ed for The Daily Wire, Bird argued that California, through Attorney General Rob Bonta, is acting as the country's regulator and driving up costs nationally, framing the disagreement as an interstate dispute that only the US Supreme Court can hear. It remains unclear whether Bird has actually filed any legal paperwork or has standing to bring such a case, but the threat could pressure Bonta back into merger settlement negotiations.

Bird's op-ed argues the merger would let a combined Paramount+ and HBO Max compete with the market-leading Netflix, citing an estimated $6 billion in savings and a pledge to release at least 30 films in cinemas annually, which she says would benefit consumers, small-town theatres and production crews. She also warned that prolonged uncertainty, alongside Paramount's $7 million "ticking fee", risks harming a recovering industry by freezing hiring, investment and production decisions. Bonta and eleven other state attorneys-general sued in July to block the merger after the Department of Justice approved it; a planned settlement meeting this week was cancelled by Bonta, who accused Paramount of leaking details of the talks, an allegation the studio denies.