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.
McConnell said he voted to confirm Garland's nomination as attorney general "because of his long reputation as a straight-shooter and legal expert," calling his "left-of-center perspective" within "the legal mainstream.".
Merrick Garland finally got his Senate vote. Now comes the hard part
To commemorate the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, and recognize the service of the first female senator in 1922, learn about the Women of the Senate.
10:00 a.m.: Convene and proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the nomination of Douglas R. Bush, of Virginia, to be an Assistant Secretary of the Army.
The Senate convened at 10:00 a.m. and adjourned at 6:57 p.m. 5 record votes were taken.
Garland said he saw no reason to disturb former Attorney General William Barr’s appointment of longtime federal prosecutor John Durham to oversee that review, but the nominee declined to explicitly commit to allowing Durham to complete his work. Republicans also urged Garland to ensure no political intervention in an ongoing inquiry that the U.S.
The 70-30 vote came almost five years to the day after the judge's initial Supreme Court nomination.
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.
The seven Republicans who voted against Garland were 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.
Garland's nomination was reported out of the Democratic-led committee in a bipartisan 15-7 vote.
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.".