Official White House Photo
Public Realm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has confirmed Merrick Garland to be the next U.S. attorney general with a strong bipartisan vote, placing the widely-respected, veteran judge in the post as President Joe Biden has vowed to restore the Justice Department’s reputation for independence.
. . . .
The department’s priorities and messaging are expected to shift drastically in the Biden administration, with a focus more on civil rights issues, criminal justice overhauls and policing policies in the wake of nationwide protests over the death of Black Americans at the hands of law enforcement.
That expected shift prompted some Republicans to oppose Garland’s nomination, including Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, who said he believed the judge would be too soft on criminals and immigrants and “empower left wing radicals embedded inside the department.”
At his confirmation hearing, Garland emphasized his commitment to combating racial discrimination in policing, telling senators that said America doesn’t “yet have equal justice.” He also said he’d prioritize confronting the rise in extremist violence and domestic terror threats.
At one point in the hearing, he held back tears when speaking about his grandparents, who fled Russia for the U.S. amid antisemitism and persecution.
“The country took us in, and protected us, and I feel an obligation to the country to pay back, and this is the highest, best use of my own set of skills to pay back,” Garland said. “So I very much want to be the kind of attorney general that you’re saying I could become, and I’ll do my best to become that kind of attorney general.”
******************
You can read the full article at the link.
Yeah, how ‘bout all those imaginary “left wing rads” embedded at the DOJ that Cotton has fabricated in the same way he fabricates threats to the U.S. from people of color.
Judge Garland’s real problem will be returning respect for civil rights, voting rights, immigrants’ rights, women’s rights, First Amendment rights, non-right-wing-Christian religious rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and Due Process to a Department that basically abandoned the Constitution and the rule of law to carry out a scofflaw, racially charged far-right agenda under Trump!
🇺🇸🗽⚖️Due Process Forever!
PWS
03-10-21