Biden Picks Merrick Garland as His Admin Attorney General
President-elect Joe Biden has chosen Merrick Garland to fill in the position of attorney general on Wednesday for his incoming administration, according to sources familiar with the attorney general nomination.
Garland is a federal appeals court judge who was snubbed by the Republicans for a seat on the Supreme Court on 2016, according to an Associated Press News report.
Biden is asking for help to an experienced job who was at senior positions at the Justice Department decades ago. This includes a supervisor of the prosecution of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.
Biden choosing Garland will force Senate Republicans to fight with the nomination of someone they spurned four years ago. However, Biden is betting on Garland's credential and reputation for moderation to ensure confirmation.
Biden is expected to release the news of Garland's appointment on Thursday. This will also include announcement for other senior leaders of the department.
Lisa Monaco is seen to be the deputy attorney general. Monaco is a former homeland security adviser.
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Meanwhile, former Department civil rights chief Vanita Gupta is seen to be nominated by Biden as associate attorney general. Biden will also choose an assistant attorney general for civil rights, which would be Kristen Clarke, who is the president of Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
It is expected that confirming Garland as attorney general would likely be an easier path with Democrats expected to win a Senate majority after winning the Georgia senate races, according to an NBC News report.
Merrick Garland
Garland is a veteran jurist and a moderate. He is seen as someone who could help restore the Justice Department's independence, which is Biden's priority after criticism that President Donald Trump has put too much influence over the department.
Biden would also appoint a younger judge to replace Garland on the critical D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Earlier reports showed that Biden has also been considering former Alabama Sen. Doug Jones and Sally Yates to be attorney general.
Garland came into the spotlight in 2016 after former President Barack Obama nominated him to fill the Supreme Court vacancy that was left open after the death of conservative jurist Antonin Scalia.
However, Senate Republicans at the time refused to even hold a hearing for Garland.
Trump then nominated Neil Gorusch for Scalia's seat. Gorusch then was confirmed in the position in 2017.
Once in the position, Garland would be responsible for criminal justice, Biden said that will focus on issues of racial justice, according to The Hill report.
Aside from Obama, former President Bill Clinton also nominated Garland to be a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, which he was confirmed in the position in 1997.
Garland then became the chief judge of the panel, which has influence next to Supreme Court in 2013, according to a Bloomberg report.
"People need to be reassured that the government can be trusted, that the Justice Department can be trusted and that we have a system where no one person is above the law," Donald Ayer was quoted on a report.
Ayer served as a deputy attorney general during former President George H.W. Bush's administration.
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