THE US Senate confirmed Merrick Garland as attorney general on March 10, 2021.
The vote was split by a 70-30 decision after hours of debate.
Merrick Garland faced some resistance while securing the role as attorney general.
Among those who voted to confirm him, several politicians including Republican Texas Senator Ted Cruz voted against him.
Cruz said Garland “did not make clear” that he would safeguard the department against political intervention.
Upon Garland’s confirmation, Cruz said: “It is nevertheless my hope as the new attorney general, Merrick Garland will lead the Department of Justice with a commitment to integrity and fidelity to the rule of law.”
20 Republicans joined 50 Senate Democrats to confirm Garland.
Garland is slated to be sworn in as attorney general on Thursday, March 11.
His confirmation comes after President Joe Biden announced his appointment as Attorney General on January 7, along with other senior leaders of the department.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer praised the bipartisanship to confirm Garland, saying: “America can breathe a sigh of relief that we are finally going to have someone like Merrick Garland leading the Justice Department.”
Garland pledged that his first briefing as attorney general would focus on the Capitol riot investigation.
Merrick Garland, 68, is an American attorney.
He served as a US circuit judge of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 1997 to 2021.
Garland’s previous work experience includes working as a law clerk to Judge Henry J. Friendly of the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Justice William J. Brennan Jr. of the Supreme Court of the US.
He also practiced corporate litigation at Arnold & Porter and worked as a federal prosecutor in the US Department of Justice.
Following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in 2016, then-President Barack Obama nominated Judge Garland to fill the vacancy.
However, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R.Ky., as the Senate majority leader, announced that the next president should fill the vacant seat.
The next presidential election was in November 2016.
When Donald Trump was elected the president of the US in 2016, he nominated Neil Gorsuch to fill the vacancy.
Meanwhile, Garland remained as a judge at the Court of Appeals before he was nominated to be attorney general.
Garland is estimated to be worth between $7.6million and $25million, according to a financial disclosure report from 2015.
Despite the big earnings, Garland was not born into a wealthy family.
His parents came from humble beginnings as his mother was a community volunteer in Illinois, while his father was a small-business owner.
Garland worked summer jobs while at Harvard University to afford books and tuition and sold his comic book collection to make ends meet, according to a White House report.
