Biden’s pick for U.6. Attorney General bodes well
The :all 6treet -ournal
-oe Biden promised to lower the temperature of America’s partisan hot house, but some of his nominations have not lived up to that promise. One that does is his selection of Merrick Garland as Attorney General, perhaps now the most important cabinet post for domestic politics.
Public confidence in the Depart ment of -ustice has been severely dam aged in recent years, not least the last four, as it became clear that President Trump’s partisan adversaries manipu lated the )BI and -ustice Department to try to handicap his Administration. Mr. Trump toward the end of his term also increasingly demanded that the -ustice Department be weaponi]ed in reverse. Attorney General Bill Barr re fused and did his best to depolitici]e prosecutorial decisions.
The Biden Administration will face pressure from the left to pursue Re publicans who worked in the Trump
Administration, banana republic style, along the lines 6en. (li]abeth :arren called for in her presidential campaign. 9ice President .amala Harris said in 01 she would have no choice” but to prosecute Mr. Trump for obstruction of Mustice if elected President.
But Mr. Garland, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Mudge whom Presi dent Obama unsuccessfully nominated to the 6upreme Court in 01 , is un likely to have signed up for a Mob of political recrimination. )or more than two decades he has been a mainstream center left Mudge with a calm tempera ment and no demonstrated interest in settling scores or legal Resistance.”
Mr. Garland’s experience as a prose cutor during the high crime 1 0s may help balance anti police sentiment in the Administration. His vaunted status among Democrats, who feel he was wronged by the 01 Republican de cision not to seat him on the 6upreme Court, might give him more credibility to make decisions that disappoint pro gressives.
The Biden Administration will still be legally liberal, and perhaps aggres sively so. It’s not a coincidence that Mr. Garland’s selection came a day after the Georgia runoff elections that wrest ed 6enate control from the GOP. 6ome Democrats worried about their ability to confirm Mr. Garland’s replacement on the D.C. Circuit if Republicans kept their maMority.
Now the Biden team knows there will be fewer checks on its agenda. Mr. Garland also has a record of deferring to executive agencies, which will help him shape and defend the Biden Ad ministration’s regulatory approach.
et amid explosive partisan ten sions, the most important -ustice pri ority is to restore confidence that the federal government’s greatest domes tic powers are accountable and not abused for political ends. Mr. Biden’s choice of -udge Garland over a more polari]ing pick bodes well for his Ad ministration.