President-elect Joe Biden will announce Judge Merrick Garland to be attorney general on Thursday, seeking to place in the nation’s top law enforcement job a respected federal appeals judge whose Supreme Court nomination Republicans blocked five years ago, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Why it matters: News of the selection, first reported by Politico, came just hours after the nation learned that Democrats would likely win both Senate runoffs in Georgia and take control of the Senate, making it harder for Republicans to block nominations.
- That applies not just the attorney general nominee himself, but also whomever Biden nominates to replace Garland as an appellant judge in a crucial circuit. Continue reading.