Garland confirmation advances out of committee
The vote was 15 to 7 with all Democratic senators and four Republicans in favor of the nominee.
Garland, the former chief judge of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, has been praised by members of both parties for his intellect and integrity. He pledged in his nomination hearing last month to “fend off any effort by anyone” to politically influence the Justice Department’s investigations, and that his first priority would be to fully prosecute the “heinous” crimes committed in the attack on the US Capitol on January 6.
“He’s a man of extraordinary qualifications,” said Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, the Judiciary Committee’s chairman, on Monday. “His life has been dedicated to public service and advancing values that are vital to the Justice Department’s functioning, integrity, independence, fidelity to the rule of law, and a commitment to equal justice for all.”
“The President made abundantly clear in every public statement before and after my nomination that decisions about investigations and prosecutions will be left to the Justice Department,” said Garland. “That was the reason that I was willing to take on this job.”
Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, supported Garland, calling him an “honorable man” with a “big job” ahead of him to uphold the integrity of the department.
“It’ll be up to him to keep the Justice Department from turning into the social justice department,” said Grassley. “I take him at his word that this is not what he wants.”
In March 2016, then-President Barack Obama nominated Garland to serve as a justice on the Supreme Court. Senate Republicans blocked his nomination, claiming that the public should vote for the next president to decide the lifelong appointment. Yet in September 2020, then-President Donald Trump nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court and on October 26, about a week before Election Day, she was confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate.
Before becoming a judge, Garland served under President Bill Clinton’s Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick and led the Justice Department investigation into the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
“I come from a family where my grandparents fled anti-Semitism and persecution,” said Garland. “The country took us in and protected us. I feel an obligation to the country to pay back.”
This story has been updated with additional developments Monday.
CNN’s Jeremy Herb, Ted Barrett and Kristin Wilson contributed to this report.
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