Biden to name former Obama Supreme Court pick Merrick Garland as his attorney general
PUBLISHED WED, JAN 6 202112:35 PM ESTUPDATED WED, JAN 6 20211:20 PM EST
Tucker Higgins @IN/TUCKER-HIGGINS-5B162295/ @TUCKERHIGGINS
Brian Schwartz @SCHWARTZBCNBC
News of President-elect Biden’s intentions came a day after Senate runoff elections in Georgia that will determine the balance of power in the upper chamber.Garland would face pressure from liberals to prosecute President Trump after Biden takes office.Another test would be how he would handle an investigation into Hunter Biden, the incoming president’s son.
Judge Merrick B. Garland speaks after being nominated to the US Supreme Court in the Rose Garden at the White House, March 16, 2016 in Washington.
Getty Images
President-elect Joe Biden will name federal appeals court Judge Merrick Garland to be his attorney general, two people familiar with the matter told CNBC on Wednesday.
Former President Barack Obama nominated Garland to the Supreme Court, but his nomination was blocked by the Republican Senate, which refused to even hold hearings for the judge.
Garland, a widely respected lawyer, has served as chief judge on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals since 2013. The 68-year-old appointee of former President Bill Clinton is considered a centrist, though he has often ruled conservatively in criminal cases.
Garland would face pressure from liberals to prosecute President Donald Trump after Biden takes office on Jan. 20. Biden has said he will leave such decisions to the Department of Justice and that he intends to support the independence of his attorney general.
Another test would be how he would handle an investigation into Hunter Biden, the incoming president’s son. Hunter Biden revealed last month that a federal investigation is underway into his taxes.
The news of the president=elect’s intentions came a day after Senate runoff elections in Georgia that will determine the balance of power in the upper chamber.
Democrats had expressed concern that if Garland were confirmed as attorney general and the GOP still controlled the Senate, then Republicans would block Biden’s efforts to replace him on the appeals court.
Democrat Raphael Warnock is projected to defeat Republican Kelly Loeffler in Tuesday’s Senate runoff in Georgia, while Democrat Jon Ossoff has claimed victory over Republican David Perdue, although NBC News said that race was too close to call.
If both Democrats are successful, the party will hold 50 seats in the 100-person body and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be able to cast tie-breaking votes.
Garland could not immediately be reached. An email seeking comment from the D.C. circuit appeals court was not returned.
In addition to overseeing federal investigations, the attorney general has a wide portfolio overseeing the Justice Department. Biden has said he will beef up protections for civil rights and add resources to the department’s agencies responsible for rooting out violations.
Biden is expected to name top civil rights leaders to the Justice Department as well.
An official told NBC News that the president-elect is expected to name Lisa Monaco as deputy attorney general, Vanita Gupta as associate attorney general, and Kristen Clarke as assistant attorney general overseeing civil rights.
Monaco is a longtime Justice Department official who served as Homeland Security Adviser to Obama. Gupta, a former leader of the DOJ’s civil rights division, is president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. Clarke is president and executive director of the National Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
Garland would likely to be confirmed with bipartisan support in the Senate. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said in a statement on Wednesday that he believed Garland “would be a sound choice” as attorney general.
“He is a man of great character, integrity, and tremendous competency in the law,” said Graham, the top Republican on the influential Judiciary Committee. |
