Nomination of Merrick Brian Garland

Floor Speech

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Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I rise today to support the nomination of Merrick B. Garland to be the 86th Attorney General of the United States and urge the Senate to confirm this nomination without further delay.

Merrick Garland is a fellow Marylander, and I was proud to introduce him in a statement before the Judiciary Committee on February 22. I was pleased that last week the committee favorably recommended his nomination to the full Senate by a bipartisan vote of 15 to 7.

Judge Garland is uniquely qualified at this moment in history to serve as the people's lawyer and restore honor, integrity, and independence to DOJ.

Judge Garland 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 1997, he was appointed as judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, often seen as the Nation's second highest and most powerful court, given their review of Federal agency actions and other matters. He served as chief judge of the D.C. Circuit from 2013 to 2020.

Judge Garland has published in the Harvard Law Review and Yale Law Journal, taught at Harvard Law School, and served as president of the board of overseers of Harvard University. He served as chair of the Executive Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States from 2017 to 2020.

Judge Garland has served both Democratic and Republican administrations in the Justice Department, including service under President Carter, the first President Bush, and President Clinton. He earned a reputation as a tough and fair prosecutor who took on complicated terrorism, violent crime, and corruption cases. He established a sterling reputation of handling cases with the utmost professionalism and is seen by his peers as a modest man who is fundamentally a decent human being.

In 1997, the Senate reviewed his record in detail and confirmed him by an overwhelming, bipartisan vote of 76 to 23 to serve as judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. I would note that many of the no votes for Judge Garland's previous confirmation had to do with a dispute over the proper size of the D.C. Circuit, as opposed to concerns over Judge Garland's qualifications or fitness to serve as a judge.

As President Biden noted in his introduction of Judge Garland's nomination, despite his busy schedule and prestigious positions, he still makes time to volunteer regularly, tutoring students in Northeast DC, as he has done for 20 years. And I agree this really shows us the true character of Judge Garland, in terms of his commitment to public service, helping others, and not necessarily seeking out the limelight.

I am hopeful that Judge Garland's appointment will shore up and improve the morale at the Justice Department, as the Department renews its commitment to uphold civil rights and voting rights laws; protect the civil liberties and equal access to justice of all Americans; safeguard our national security and combat violent crime; and rout out systemic racism in our criminal justice system and government. As the only Cabinet department named after an ideal, I am convinced that Judge Garland will follow the facts, evidence, and law wherever it leads him, regardless of political pressure or outside influences.

Let me close by highlighting what President Biden and Judge Garland stated upon announcing his nomination. President Biden said forcefully: ``You won't work for me. You are not the president's or the vice president's lawyer. Your loyalty is not to me. It's to the law, the Constitution.''

Judge Garland said: ``The rule of law is not just some lawyer's turn of phrase. It is the very foundation of our democracy. The essence of the rule of law is that like cases are treated alike, that there is not one rule for Democrats and another for Republicans, one rule for friends and another for foes.''

Judge Garland noted President Biden's promise that he would have the ``independent capacity'' to decide who is subject to prosecution, based on the facts and the law. Judge Garland concluded that: ``I would not have agreed to be considered for attorney general under any other conditions.''

I again urge the Senate to swiftly confirm this nomination, so we can bring Senate-confirmed leadership to the Department of Justice as soon as possible.

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