On Monday, Sen. John Cornyn voted to advance the nomination of Merrick Garland, Biden’s pick for attorney general, in a vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Other establishment Republicans, including Chuck Grassley (RA), Lindsey Graham (SC), and Thom Tillis (NC), joined Cornyn and Democrats on the committee in supporting the left-leaning nominee.
The vote was expected, as Cornyn had announced his support for Garland on January 25, stating, “Judge Garland’s extensive legal experience makes him well suited to lead the Department of Justice, and I appreciated his commitment to keep politics out of the Justice Department. That is my No. 1 criterion for who should be the next Head of the Department of Justice as attorney general.” He ended his statement by saying, “Unless I hear something new, I expect to support his nomination before the full Senate.”
Sen. Ted Cruz, however, voted against Garland’s confirmation. This comes after Cruz grilled Garland on whether he would politicize the Justice Department, citing how it became politicized under the Obama administration, which in 2016 tried to appoint Garland to the Supreme Court.
Other Republican senators, including Marsha Blackburn (TN), Josh Hawley (MO), John Kennedy (LA), Mike Lee (UT), and Ben Sasse (NE), joined Cruz in opposing Biden’s pick for attorney general.
Garland’s nomination will now head to the full Senate for a vote.
