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Senate confirmations of Joe Biden’s cabinet nominees are still underway and this week brought more nominees to be confirmed. After a long wait, the Senate has confirmed Merrick Garland for Attorney General.
Garland was confirmed by the Senate this week on a bipartisan vote of 70-30, placing him in a post to lead the government agency that was heavily politicized by now-former President Donald Trump during his term. Garland’s nomination for DOJ attorney general was seen by many as retribution for having his Supreme Court confirmation hearing back in 2016 blocked by then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
At that time, McConnell and the GOP-controlled Senate set the precedent that no Supreme Court nominees would receive a hearing in an election year, a precedent that was easily broken in 2020 when the Senate sped through the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
“After Donald Trump spent four years -- four long years -- subverting the powers of the Justice Department for his own political benefit, treating the attorney general like his own personal defense lawyer, America can breathe a sigh of relief that we’re going to have someone like Merrick Garland leading the Justice Department,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer prior to the vote. “Someone with integrity, independence, respect for the rule of law and credibility on both sides of the aisle.”
During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Garland assured lawmakers that the Justice Department under his leadership would remain politically independent. Garland also said that his first priority should he be confirmed would be to investigate the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol.
Aside from Garland, the Senate also confirmed Ohio Congresswoman Marcia Fudge to become Biden’s Housing and Urban Development Secretary. Fudge was also confirmed on a bipartisan vote of 66-34, making her the second Black woman to take on the post and the first woman in decades to do so.
Becoming the Housing and Urban Development Secretary, Fudge will help bring Biden’s campaign promise of implementing fair housing to life. She will also take on the task of managing an agency of over 8,000 employees.
