WASHINGTON – The Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday recommended the appointment of Merrick Garland to serve as President Joe Biden’s Attorney General.
Garland’s nomination was reported in a 15-7 vote from the Democratic-led committee along two lines.
Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of the committee, as well as Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, joined the Democrats on the panel in support of the nomination.
The seven Republicans who voted against Garland were Sens. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Mike Lee of Utah, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, John Kennedy of Louisiana, Ted Cruz of Texas and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee.
The committee’s action comes a week after Garland testified before the panel on how he would lead the Justice Department if confirmed by the Senate, assuring senators that he would protect the department’s independence and not politics with the work could not interfere.
In comments before the vote, committee chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Said of the nominee that “America will be better off with this kind of person leading the Department of Justice.”
Grassley, who announced his intention to support Garland, said a moment later: “I intend to vote for him, I hope my trust is not misplaced.”
Other Republicans were louder. Cruz, in turn, claimed that Garland “refused to answer virtually anything” during his confirmation hearings – an allegation that Durbin disputed.
John Cornyn, a member of the committee, R-Texas, told reporters last week that Garland “is a direct shooter when it comes to legal issues.” He said ‘he had an incredible career’ and ‘looks like a fundamentally decent man.’
Other Republicans on the committee, including potential 2024 presidential candidates such as Senator Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Were less enthusiastic and expressed strong concerns about Garland.
Garland emphasized in his testimony that if confirmed, he would oversee the prosecution of white supremacists and others who stormed the Capitol on January 6 – a heinous attack that sought to disrupt a cornerstone of our democracy: the peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected government. ‘
Garland, who helped investigate and prosecute the bombers in Oklahoma City in the 1990s, said the Department of Justice must do everything in its power to ensure that Americans and democratic institutions are protected from such extremists.
In response to a. a question of sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, DR., Garland said he would not rule out investigating those who funded, organized, led and otherwise assisted the attack.
“We start with the people on the ground, and we work our way up to those who are involved and further involved, and we will follow these clues wherever they take us,” Garland said.
Garland emphasized during his confirmation hearing last week that he would protect the independence of the Department of Justice from political interference in the White House in investigations. Former President Donald Trump’s attorney general, William Barr, is regularly accused by federal judges and others of putting Trump’s interests above the department.
When his nomination was announced in January, Garland said he would strive to ensure that ‘similar issues are addressed, that there is no one rule for the Democrats and another for the Republicans, one for friends and the others not for enemies. ‘
The confirmation from Garland, 68, comes after Republicans chose not to have his nomination by former president. Barack Obama in 2016 to the Supreme Court to consider. Garland has served as a judge in the DC Circuit Court of Appeals since 1997 and was the Chief Justice from 2013. until 2020.
