Newsman: President Elect Joe Biden has nominated Judge Merrick Garland to serve as next attorney general of the United States. Biden, for his part, stressed that he viewed the Justice Department and the attorney general as independent and sought to make a strong contrast with the way he said they’d operated under Trump. Biden also announced his pick Lisa Monaco to the Justice Department’s second-highest post, deputy attorney general and Vanita Gupta as associate attorney general. She now heads the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and was previously assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division at the Justice Department. President Elect Joe Biden introduced his choice for U.S. attorney general, Judge Merrick Garland, and two other pick of justice department during an event in Wilmington, Del. on Thursday.
President Barack Obama picked Merrick Garland as a nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia in 2016. But Senate Republicans refused even a hearing. Garland also previously served in the Justice Department, leading investigations into the “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski and into the Oklahoma City bombing.Lisa Monaco is another Justice Department veteran, and the first woman assistant attorney general for national security. Monaco also served as White House homeland security and counterterrorism adviser under Obama. Vanita Gupta now the heads the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and was previously assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division at the Justice Department.
