The Senate confirmed the judge’s nomination on Wednesday with a vote of 70-30.
What We Know:
- Merrick Garland has served as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia since 1997. President Biden named Garland as his nominee in February, with Garland appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee last Monday. The committee voted to advance his nomination with a vote of 15-7, all those opposed were Republicans.
- At his confirmation hearings, Garland vowed to move the Justice Department away from partisan politics. The department dealt with constant scandals during Trump’s administration, with Democrats accusing former AG William Barr of acting like his personal lawyer. Garland promised to work in the interests of the American people saying, “I am not the president’s lawyer. I am the United States’ lawyer.”
- Five years ago, President Barack Obama nominated Judge Garland to fill the vacancy in the Supreme Court after the death of Judge Antonin Scalia. Republicans, led by Mitch McConnell, blocked the effort arguing the seat shouldn’t be filled during an election year. President Trump later nominated Justice Neil Gorsuch to fill the seat, while Republicans voted to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Court only days before the 2020 elections.
- The Hill reported that, unlike in 2016, McConnell gave his support this time for Garland’s nomination as the new attorney general:
“I’m voting to confirm Judge Garland because of his long reputation as a straight shooter and a legal expert. His left-of-center perspective has been within the legal mainstream. Let’s hope our incoming attorney general applies that no-nonsense approach to the serious challenges facing the Department of Justice and our nation.”
Garland will take over as Attorney General with the justice department still dealing with the aftermath of the January 6th Capitol Riots. With his confirmation, Biden will have to fill the vacancy created in the D.C. Court of Appeals, the nation’s second-highest court.
