THE US Senate confirmed Merrick Garland as attorney general in March 2021.
He has worked in government since 1995 when he was appointed by then-President Bill Clinton to the US Court of Appeals for Washington, DC.
The US Senate confirmed Merrick Garland as attorney general on March 10, 2021[/caption]
Who is Merrick Garland?
The US Senate confirmed Merrick Garland, 69, as attorney general in a 70-30 vote, and he was sworn into the position in March 2021.
Garland previously served as a US circuit judge of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 1997 to 2021.
His previous work experience includes working as a law clerk to Judge Henry J. Friendly of the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Justice William J. Brennan Jr. of the Supreme Court of the US.
He also practiced corporate litigation at Arnold & Porter and worked as a federal prosecutor in the US Department of Justice.
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Following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in 2016, then-President Barack Obama nominated Garland to fill the vacancy.
However, Senate minority leader, Sen Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), announced that the next president should fill the vacant seat.
The next presidential election was in November 2016.
When Donald Trump was elected the president of the US in 2016, he nominated Neil Gorsuch to fill the vacancy.
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Meanwhile, Garland remained as a judge at the Court of Appeals before he was nominated to be attorney general.
Who voted against Merrick Garland?
Merrick Garland faced some resistance while securing the role as attorney general.
Among those who voted to confirm him, several politicians including Republican Texas Senator Ted Cruz voted against him.
Cruz said Garland “did not make clear” that he would safeguard the department against political intervention.
Upon Garland’s confirmation, Cruz said: “It is nevertheless my hope as the new attorney general, Merrick Garland will lead the Department of Justice with a commitment to integrity and fidelity to the rule of law.”
“America can breathe a sigh of relief that we’re finally going to have someone like Merrick Garland leading the Justice Department,” Sen Chuck Schumer (D-New York) said on the Senate floor.
“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,” he said.
20 Republicans joined 50 Senate Democrats to confirm Garland[/caption]
His confirmation came after President Joe Biden announced his appointment as Attorney General on January 7, 2021, along with other senior leaders of the department.
Garland pledged that his first briefing as attorney general would focus on the January 6 Capitol riot investigation.
What is Merrick Garland’s net worth?
Garland is estimated to be worth $20million as of 2021, Forbes reported.
His amassed wealth is unusual for someone working in government, the outlet reported.
Forbes revealed that his name was placed under a trust by his wife’s family amounting to $910k in 2004.
After ten years, the trust had grown to between 7.6million and $28million, however, it’s reportedly worth between $8.6million and $33million.
Garland began investing in real estate in 2010, and a New York City property showed up on his financial disclosure report.
The property was handed down to him through a family trust, the outlet reported and nine years later, another property appeared.
The second property was valued at $500k to $1million and was located in Connecticut.
“The concept of taking real estate and putting it in trusts for heirs is a very common tool,” David Cannon, a New York real estate trusts and estates lawyer told Forbes.
He added: “So that doesn’t raise my eyebrows at all.”
