Merrick Garland Wins Senate Approval, Opening Biden Era at DOJ

The Senate confirmed Merrick Garland as U.S. attorney general, filling a major position in President Joe Biden’s cabinet and ushering in a new era at the Justice Department.

The 70-30 vote Wednesday in the evenly divided Senate reflected substantial Republican support for Garland, who pledged to make decisions and pursue investigations independently from Biden and the White House. His predecessors Jeff Sessions and William Barr came under withering criticism for bending to political pressure from former President Donald Trump and his allies.

Garland will “restore integrity to the Justice Department,” making sure it “stays out of the fray” while ...