Merrick Garland, President Joe Biden’s nominee for attorney general was confirmed Wednesday by the U.S. Senate.
His confirmation comes nearly five years to the day since he was nominated by President Barack Obama to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court. He was never given a confirmation hearing by Senate Republicans who said Scalia’s successor should be picked by the winner of the 2016 presidential election.
Garland will assume leadership of a department, and its more than 115,000-strong federal workforce, emerging from four years of being at the center of multiple politically charged controversies during the Trump administration — in addition to being the target of a barrage of attacks from former President Donald Trump himself.
Garland, who has been serving as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, also worked in the Clinton Justice Department, overseeing the prosecution of convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh in the 1990s. Chief among Garland’s initial priorities will be a briefing on the department’s sprawling investigation into the pro-Trump rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6.
As of this week, more than 300 suspects have been federally charged related to their role in the riot with more than 285 individuals arrested.
Source-ABC
