Senate confirms Garland to be attorney general
The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Merrick Garland to be the next U.S. attorney general with a strong bipartisan vote, placing the veteran judge in the post as President Joe Biden has vowed to restore the Justice Department’s reputation for independence.
Democrats have praised Garland, a federal appeals court judge who was snubbed by Republicans for a seat on the Supreme Court in 2016, as a highly qualified and honorable jurist who is uniquely qualified to lead the department after a tumultuous four years under former President Donald Trump. Many Republicans praised him as well, saying he has the right record and temperament for the moment. The vote was 70-30.
Garland will now inherit a Justice Department embattled by a turbulent era under Trump, who insisted that the attorney general must be loyal to him personally, a position that battered the department’s reputation. In the last month of Trump’s presidency, Attorney General William Barr resigned after refuting Trump’s false claims that widespread elec- toral fraud had led to his defeat.
Tr u mp’s pressure on officials, including on Barr and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions over the department’s probe into his campaign’s ties to Russia, prompted abundant criti- cism from Democrats over what they saw as the politicizing of the nation’s top law enforcement agencies.
“America can breathe a sigh of relief that we’re going to have someone like Merrick Garland leading the Justice Department,” said Major- ity Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., ahead of the vote.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell — who prevented Garland from becoming a Supreme Court Justice in 2016 when he blocked his nomination — said he was voting to confirm Garland because of his reputation.
“Let’s hope our incoming attorney general applies (his) no-nonsense approach to the serious challenges facing the Department of Justice and our nation,” McConnell said.