The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to serve as President Biden’s Attorney General, by a vote of 15-7. Garland is set up to easily be confirmed by the full Senate, a vote that could be held as early as this week.
Senate Judiciary Committee favorably reports out the nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to be Attorney General, 15-7.
— CSPAN (@cspan) March 1, 2021
Full video here: https://t.co/sFKNCvhcS9 pic.twitter.com/sMgpy7SnzG
A handful of Republican Senators including Chuck Grassley (IA), Thom Tillis (NC), Lindsey Graham (SC), and John Cornyn (TX) voted with Democrats to advance Garland’s nomination out of committee. Republican Senators Ted Cruz (TX), Mike Lee (UT), Josh Hawley (MO), Ben Sasse (NE), Tom Cotton (AR), John Kennedy (LA), and Marsha Blackburn (TN) all opposed Garland's nomination in committee.
New: Senate Judiciary has voted to send AG nomination of Merrick Garland to the full Senate for a vote
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) March 1, 2021
Vote was 15-7. Senators Grassley, Cornyn, Tillis and Graham joined Democrats voting Yes.
Republicans Lee, Cruz, Sasse, Hawley, Cotton, Kennedy, & Blackburn voted No
BREAKING: Judge Merrick B. Garland has been reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee by a bipartisan majority.
— Senate Judiciary Committee (@JudiciaryDems) March 1, 2021
The hundreds of questions fielded by Garland, and his "subsequent answers" did not satisfy all Republican Senators, including Cruz, who claimed that Garland would not answer "virtually anything."
.@SenTedCruz: "Judge Garland's testimony before this committee and his subsequent answers to the questions for the record left me deeply, deeply disappointed. On question after question after question, Judge Garland refused to answer virtually anything." pic.twitter.com/CWviOItG8T
— The Hill (@thehill) March 1, 2021