· Attorney General nominee Merrick Garland testifies during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Washington, DC, February 22, 2021.
· President Joe Biden (D) announced Merrick Garland was his nominee for U.S. attorney general on January 7, 2021. This presidential appointment required Senate confirmation. The Senate Judiciary Committee held Garland's confirmation hearing for February 22-23, 2021. The Senate confirmed him on March 10, 2021, by a vote of 70-30.
· March 11, 2021 / 7:00 AM / CBS News Washington — The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Judge Merrick Garland as attorney general on Wednesday, five years after he was blocked from consideration as...
· March 10, 2021 WASHINGTON — The Senate voted to confirm Merrick B. Garland on Wednesday to serve as attorney general, giving the former prosecutor and widely respected …
Under the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution, the officeholder is nominated by the president of the United States, then appointed with the advice and consent of the United States Senate.
69 years (November 13, 1952)Merrick Garland / Age
Attorney General GarlandMeet the Attorney General As the nation's chief law enforcement officer, Attorney General Garland leads the Justice Department's 115,000 employees, who work across the United States and in more than 50 countries worldwide.
Merrick Brian Garland (born November 13, 1952) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as the 86th United States attorney general since March 2021. He served as a circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 1997 to 2021. Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
73 years (June 23, 1948)Clarence Thomas / Age
Within the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI is responsible to the attorney general, and it reports its findings to U.S. Attorneys across the country. The FBI's intelligence activities are overseen by the Director of National Intelligence.
Since 2004 the CIA is organized under the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). Despite transferring some of its powers to the DNI, the CIA has grown in size as a response to the September 11 attacks.
In Cabinet and Cabinet committee meetings, the Attorney-General gives legal advice and encourages ministerial colleagues to seek appropriate legal advice in the course of government decision-making. The Attorney-General should be consulted on policy papers that raise significant legal issues.
The confirmation process includes several rounds of investigation and review, beginning with the submission of a personal financial disclosure report and a background check. The nominee is then evaluated in a committee hearing, which allows for a close examination of the nominee and his or her views on public policy.
The Senate Judiciary Committee held Garland's confirmation hearing for February 22-23, 2021. The Senate confirmed him on March 10 , 2021, by a vote of 70-30.
Once committee hearings are closed, most committees have a set amount of time before a vote is taken on whether the nominee is reported to the Senate favorably, unfavorably, or without recommendation. The nomination will then go to the Senate floor for consideration. Once the nomination is considered by the Senate, unlimited debate is allowed until a majority of the Senate votes to invoke cloture and close debate. Following a vote of cloture, the Senate conducts a simple majority vote on whether to confirm, reject, or take no action on the nomination.
The Office of Government Ethics released Garland's financial disclosures in January 2021. Click here to review them.
During his confirmation hearings last month, Garland also pledged to depoliticize the Justice Department. Under former President Donald Trump, the department became embroiled in political scandals involving of Mr. Trump's closest allies, leading the president to accuse the department of being biased against him.
Garland vowed that as attorney general he would act in the interests of the American people, and pledged that he would fight efforts to make prosecutions or investigations partisan or political.
Garland was nominated by Mr. Obama to fill the Supreme Court seat vacated by Justice Antonin Scalia's death in February 2016, but Republicans blocked him from being considered, arguing that the seat should not be filled during an election year. The seat was later filled by Justice Neil Gorsuch, Mr. Trump's nominee.
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.”
During the Clinton administration, Judge Garland was chosen by Jamie Gorelick, the deputy attorney general, to serve as her top deputy. He oversaw the investigation into the Oklahoma City bombing, which led to the conviction and execution of Timothy McVeigh, and went on to supervise other high-profile cases that included the Unabomber, Theodore J.
What is contempt of Congress? It is a sanction imposed on people who defy congressional subpoenas. Congress can refer contempt citations to the Justice Department and ask for criminal charges. Mr. Bannon has been indicted on contempt charges for refusing to comply with a subpoena that seeks documents and testimony.
Judge Garland was confirmed 70 to 30, with 20 Republicans joining all 50 Democrats in supporting him. He is expected to be sworn in at the Justice Department on Thursday. “Attorney General Garland will lead the Department of Justice with honesty and integrity,” Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois and the chairman ...
But Mr. McConnell refused to consider his nomination, and Mr. Trump selected Neil M. Gorsuch to fill the vacant seat in 2017. Judge Garland stayed on at the appeals court.
Judge Merrick B. Garland has said that he would rely on his leadership of the Justice Department’s investigation into the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing to combat the renewed threat of domestic extremism. Credit... Stefani Reynolds for The New York Times. By Katie Benner.
Restoring trust inside and outside the Justice Department will be key, as Judge Garland will immediately oversee politically charged investigations, including a federal tax fraud inquiry into President Biden’s son, Hunter, and a special counsel inquiry into the Russia investigation.
Garland said at his hearing that the current threat from White supremacists is a "more dangerous period than we faced at that time." He also gave a brief, yet emotional, anecdote in response to a question about his family's history in confronting hate and discrimination. Garland fought back tears as he explained why leading the Justice Department was important to him.
Garland also could oversee the investigation of the FBI's Russia probe. But he said in his nomination hearing that he didn't have "any reason to think" that special counsel John Durham "should not remain in place."
Then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans blocked his nomination, claiming that the public should vote for the next president to decide the lifelong appointment. But in September 2020, then-President Donald Trump nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
Merrick Garland finally got his Senate vote. Now comes the hard part
For example, upon the inauguration of President Donald Trump on January 20, 2017, then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch left her position, so then-Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, who had also tendered her resignation, was asked to stay on to serve as the acting attorney general until the confirmation of the new attorney general Jeff Sessions, who had been nominated for the office in November 2016 by then- President-elect Donald Trump.
Presidential transition[edit] It is the practice for the attorney general, along with the other Cabinet secretaries and high-level political appointees of the President, to tender a resignation with effect on the Inauguration Day(January 20) of a new president.
The original duties of this officer were "to prosecute and conduct all suits in the Supreme Court in which the United States shall be concerned, and to give his advice and opinion upon questions of law when required by the president of the United States, or when requested by the heads of any of the departments". Some of these duties have since been transferred to the United States solicitor general and the White House counsel .
Attorney General is a Level I position in the Executive Schedule, thus earning a salary of US$ 221,400, as of January 2021.
The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United Stateson all legal matters. The attorney general is a statutory member of the Cabinet of the United States.
Gerson was fourth in the line of succession at the Justice Department, but other senior DOJ officials had already resigned.[14] Janet Reno, President Clinton's nominee for attorney general, was confirmed on March 12,[15]and he resigned the same day.
The Department of Justice was established in 1870 to support the attorneys general in the discharge of their responsibilities.
6 a top priority. U.S. Circuit Judge Merrick Garland, President Joe Biden's nominee for attorney general, is sworn in at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Feb. 22.
Garland testified before the panel last week about how he would lead the Justice Department if he is confirmed by the Senate, reassuring senators that he would protect the department's independence and not allow politics to interfere with the job.
During his confirmation hearing last week, Garland stressed that he would protect the Justice Department from White House political interference. Former President Donald Trump's attorney general William Barr was frequently accused by federal judges and others of putting Trump's interests ahead of the department's.
Other Republicans were harsher. Cruz claimed that Garland "refused to answer virtually anything" during his confirmation hearings — an assertion that Durbin disputed. Cornyn told reporters last week that Garland is "a straight shooter when it comes to questions of law.".
Before becoming a federal judge, Garland served as the lead prosecutor in the Oklahoma City bombing cases, including that of Timothy McVeigh. His fellow prosecutor in that case, attorney Aitan Goelman, spoke at length about the resonance of that case to the Capitol insurrection in the debut episode of Law&Crime’s podcast “ Objections .”
The focus in Garland’s speech on white supremacists and violent extremists gives special resonance to the late Supreme Court justice he chose to quote in the conclusion of that statement: Robert Jackson, who served as the chief U.S. prosecutor during the Nuremberg trials.
The post Watch Live: Merrick Garland Finally Gets a Confirmation Hearing—This Time, for Attorney General first appeared on Law & Crime.
Third, the president presents a signed commission to the successful nominee and he or she is sworn in, assuming authority to carry out the duties of the office.
shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law.
3 nominees. In the past 100 years, the Senate has rejected three nominations on a recorded vote. Americans tend to think of their president as the most powerful person in the world, but the Constitution limits the power of all three branches of government—the president as well as the Congress and the federal courts.
Four nominees withdrew (out of seven in history). Since 1845, the Senate has taken no action on only five Supreme Court nominees, the latest being Merrick Garland in 2016. Obama, a liberal Democrat, selected Garland to fill a vacancy created by the February 2016 death of Justice Antonin Scalia, a conservative.
Recess appointments, however, expire at the end of the Senate’s next session.
Opposition from one or more senators may prevent a floor vote because the Senate cannot schedule the vote absent unanimous consent.
A candidate for a Cabinet or other top position fills out various forms, such as a financial disclosure report and a national security questionnaire. The Office of Government Ethics is available to guide a candidate through the paperwork.