Biden To Announce DoJ Picks 1330ET, Former SCOTUS Nominee Garland For AG

President Elect Joe Biden is set to announce his nominees for senior Department of Justice officials at 1330ET (1830GMT, 1930CET) today, with former Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland set to be picked for the position of Attorney General.

• Garland - former Chief Judge of the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit - was President Barack Obama's pick for the Associate Justice position on the SCOTUS bench following the death of conservative justice Antonin Scalia in 2016. Garland did not receive any Senate hearings over his nomination, with all efforts blocked by Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who argued Obama did not have the right to nominate a new justice so close to the end of his second term.
• Biden's team said the DoJ picks reflected his "deeply held commitment to reaffirming the Department of Justice as a pillar of independence and integrity, and ensuring that the Attorney General and his senior leadership team are the American people's lawyers — not the president's law firm. These leaders, all of whom are Justice Department veterans, will renew Americans' faith in the rule of law and work tirelessly to build a more equitable justice system."
• Alongside Garland former Homeland Security Adviser Lisa Monaco is in line to become Deputy AG, former US Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Vanita Gupta is to become Associate AG, and President of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Kristen Clarke is to become US Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.
• With the Democrats winning an effective majority in the Senate following the party's wins in both Georgia US Senate races, the appointments of new DoJ (and indeed other departments') leaders should prove a relatively smooth process.