US Senate confirms Merrick Garland as attorney general

WASHINGTON: The US Senate has voted to confirm Merrick Garland as attorney general to lead the Justice Department, a central role to President Joe Biden's domestic policy agenda.

Senators on Wednesday voted 70-30 on Garland's nomination, showing solid bipartisan support in the evenly split upper chamber. Twenty Republican senators joined Democrats to vote in favour of the former Supreme Court nominee picked by then President Barack Obama almost five years ago.

"I'm voting to confirm Judge Garland because of his long reputation as a straight shooter and a legal expert. His left-of-center perspective has been within the legal mainstream," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell ahead of the vote, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Let's hope our incoming attorney general applies that no-nonsense approach to the serious challenges facing the Department of Justice and our nation," the top Senate Republican said.

"America can breathe a sigh of relief that we're finally going to have someone like Merrick Garland leading the Justice Department ... He understands that the job of the attorney general is one to protect rule of law, unlike the previous attorneys general under President (Donald) Trump," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said before the vote. (IANS)

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