
A new phase of Merrick Garland‘s lengthy career in the legislation has opened after the Senate elected to lead the way for him to serve as attorney general of the United States.
The 70-30 vote for his confirmation comes 5 years after then-President Barack Obama nominated Garland to offer on the Supreme Court– an objective irritated by Senate Republicans who refused to even take into consideration a hearing for that post.
Garland, a moderate judge with deep prosecutorial experience, will certainly quickly lead a Justice Department reeling from political rumors and also competing to face the hazard from violent native extremists.
“Attorney General Garland will lead the Department of Justice with honesty and integrity,” Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois and the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement. “He has a big job ahead of him, but I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have in his place.”
Judge Garland has vowed to restore public faith in a department embroiled in political controversy under President Donald J. Trump, who sought both to undermine federal law enforcement when it scrutinized him and his associates and to wield its power to benefit him personally and politically.
At his confirmation hearing, Judge Garland, 68, said that becoming attorney general would “be the culmination of a career I have dedicated to ensuring that the laws of our country are fairly and faithfully enforced and the rights of all Americans are protected.”
Source