Merrick Garland To Be Nominated Attorney General
President-elect Joe Biden has announced his intent to nominate Merrick Brian Garland of the U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit to be the next U.S. Attorney General. President-elect Biden announced Judge Garland’s appointment along with other senior leaders of the department, including former homeland security adviser Lisa Monaco of NYU School of Law as deputy attorney general and former Justice Department civil rights chief Vanita Gupta as associate attorney general.
“Our first-rate nominees to lead the Justice Department are eminently qualified, embody character and judgment that is beyond reproach, and have devoted their careers to serving the American people with honor and integrity," said President-elect Biden. "They will restore the independence of the Department so it serves the interests of the people not a presidency, rebuild public trust in the rule of law, and work tirelessly to ensure a more fair and equitable justice system. They are among the most accomplished legal minds in our country who also reflect the best of America’s full range of talents and background. I am honored they accepted this call to serve at such a critical time in our nation’s history.”
Judge Garland was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals in April 1997 and served as Chief Judge from February 12, 2013 through February 11, 2020. He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College in 1974 and magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1977. Following graduation, he served as law clerk to Judge Henry J. Friendly of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and to U.S. Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. From 1979 to 1981, he was Special Assistant to the Attorney General of the United States. He then joined the law firm of Arnold & Porter, where he was a partner from 1985 to 1989 and from 1992 to 1993. He served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia from 1989 to 1992, and as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice from 1993 to 1994. From 1994 until his appointment as U.S. Circuit Judge, he served as Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General, where his responsibilities included supervising the Oklahoma City bombing and UNABOM prosecutions. In 2016, President Barack Obama nominated Judge Garland to serve on the Supreme Court.
Professor Monaco served in the Department of Justice for fifteen years, as Assistant Attorney General for National Security, a senior official in the Office of the Deputy Attorney General and as a career prosecutor. She has been a trailblazer for women in national security. She was the first woman confirmed as Assistant Attorney General for National Security and was one of the most senior women on President Obama’s national security team. She has demonstrated that public service is about service to the American people. In her career, she has prosecuted a range of cases from violent crime to fraud and public corruption, served as counsel and Chief of Staff to then-FBI Director Robert Mueller, and worked tirelessly to keep the American people safe as White House Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Advisor.
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