© (Al Drago/Getty Images)Attorney General nominee Merrick Garland speaks during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on February 22, 2021 in Washington, DC.
The Senate on Wednesday voted to confirm the nomination of Merrick Garland to be U.S. attorney general.
The vote came nearly five years after the longtime federal judge's nomination to the Supreme Court by former President Barack Obama - a selection that was blocked by Republicans.
Garland's nomination earned bipartisan support and succeeded on a 70 to 30 vote. Now, the judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will head up the Justice Department just as prosecutors proceed with cases related to the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.
"America can breathe a sigh of relief that we're finally going to have someone like Merrick Garland leading the Justice Department," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said. "Someone with integrity, independence, respect for the rule of law and credibility on both sides of the aisle. He understands that the job of the attorney general is one to protect rule of law, unlike the previous attorneys general under President Trump."
Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said he voted to confirm Garland "because of his long reputation as a straight-shooter and legal expert."
At his confirmation hearing last month, Garland said one of his most important tasks would be to take on white supremacy, including supervising "the prosecution of white supremacists and others who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 - a heinous attack that sought to disrupt a cornerstone of our democracy: the peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected government."
Garland also stressed at his hearings that he would protect the Justice Department from political interference from the White House.
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