Senate panel votes to advance Merrick Garland’s nomination to be attorney general

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted Monday to advance the nomination of Merrick Garland, President Biden’s nominee for attorney general.

The committee voted 15 to 7 in favor of Garland’s nomination at a meeting Monday afternoon.

Garland, a federal appeals court judge who was snubbed by Republicans for a seat on the Supreme Court in 2016, is among Biden’s most widely supported nominees. The committee’s vote puts him on track for a quick confirmation, potentially within days.

The committee’s chairman, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), praised Garland as a highly qualified and honorable jurist who is uniquely qualified to lead the Justice Department after a tumultuous four years under former President Trump.

The committee’s top Republican, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, said he also intends to support Garland’s nomination. He said Garland is “an honorable man” but that he “has his work cut out for him.”

Politics

Merrick Garland says Capitol siege probe will be top priority

President Biden’s attorney general nominee testifies before a Senate committee weighing his appointment to be the top U.S. law enforcement official.

Feb. 22, 2021

At his confirmation hearing last week, Garland vowed to prioritize combating extremist violence with an initial focus on the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and sought to assure lawmakers that the Justice Department would remain politically independent on his watch.

Garland will inherit a Justice Department that endured a turbulent era under Trump — rife with political drama and controversial decisions — and that faced abundant criticism from Democrats over what they saw as the politicizing of the nation’s top law enforcement agencies.

Garland would confront immediate challenges if confirmed, including an ongoing criminal tax investigation into Biden’s son, Hunter, as well as calls from many Democrats to pursue inquiries into Trump.

A special counsel investigation into the origins of the Russia probe also remains open, which would leave Garland to decide how to handle it and what to make public.