(Headline USA) The last time Merrick Garland was nominated by the White House for a job, Republicans blocked his confirmation.
Now, the once-snubbed Supreme Court pick will finally come before the Senate, this time as President Joe Biden‘s choice for attorney general.
Garland, an appeals court judge, is widely expected to sail through his confirmation process, which begins Monday before the Democratic-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee, with bipartisan support.
“Judge Garland’s extensive legal experience makes him well-suited to lead the Department of Justice, and I appreciated his commitment to keep politics out of the Justice Department,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said in a statement. “Unless I hear something new, I expect to support his nomination before the full Senate.”
Garland’s high court nomination by President Barack Obama in 2016 died because the Republican-controlled Senate refused to hold a hearing.
Garland will inherit a Justice Department that failed to protect the last sitting president from endless politically motivated investigations.
The department will focus more on civil rights issue, criminal justice overhauls and policing policies.
Garland plans to tell senators the department must ensure laws are “fairly and faithfully enforced” and the rights of all Americans are protected, while reaffirming an adherence to policies to protect its political independence.
The Justice Department on late Saturday released a copy of Garland’s opening statement.
Garland will also confront some immediate challenges, including the criminal tax investigation into Biden’s son, Hunter, and calls from some Democrats to investigate Trump.
Garland, in his prepared remarks for the Senate committee, reacted hysterically to the Capitol protest, calling it a “heinous attack that sought to distrust a cornerstone of our democracy: the peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected government.”
A special counsel’s inquiry started by William Barr, while he was attorney general, into the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation also remains open.
It will be up to Garland to decide what to make public from that report.
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press.
