Washington – The Senate is expected to confirm Judge Merrick Garland as attorney general on Wednesday, five years after he was barred from being considered as a candidate for former President Barack Obama on the Supreme Court.
Garland’s nomination is expected to be approved with the support of the bipartisan. The Senate Judiciary Committee last week advanced his nomination with a 15-7 vote, with four Republicans joining all Democrats to support Garland. Even Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who helped prevent Garland from receiving confirmation hearings in 2016, has said will support Garland’s nomination.
Garland, a judge in the U.S. District of Columbia District Court of Appeals, will take the reins of the Justice Department while federal prosecutors across the country prosecute hundreds of cases against those involved in the January 6 Capitol riots.
During their confirmation hearings last month, Garland also pledged to depoliticize the Justice Department. Under former President Donald Trump, the department was embroiled in political scandals involving Trump’s closest allies, leading the president to accuse the department of being biased against him. Democrats accused former Attorney General William Barr of acting as the president’s personal attorney in handling these cases.
Garland promised that, as Attorney General, he would act in the interest of the American people and pledged to combat efforts to make processes or investigations partisan or political.
“I’m not the president’s lawyer. I’m the United States’ lawyer,” he said.
Garland was appointed by Mr. Obama to occupy the Supreme Court seat vacated by the death of Judge Antonin Scalia in February 2016, but Republicans prevented him from being considered, arguing that the position should not be filled for a year. electoral. The seat was later taken by Judge Neil Gorsuch, Mr. Trump’s candidate. The Republican-controlled Senate later confirmed in court Amy Coney Barrett in court a few days before the 2020 presidential election.
The Senate will also vote Wednesday to confirm it Congresswoman Marcia Fudge as secretary of the Department of Housing and Urbanism. Fudge, a former president of the Black Caucus of Congress, will be the second black woman to head the department. Patricia Roberts Harris held the position with Jimmy Carter, becoming the first black woman to be part of the cabinet.
Fudge said during his confirmation hearings that he wanted to review the country’s housing policies and focus on providing more housing for the most vulnerable. It was confirmed by a vote of 66 to 34.