Merrick Garland still can't get a Senate hearing


Judge Merrick Garland, President Biden's nominee for attorney general, is once again having trouble getting a Senate hearing.
Back in 2016, Garland was nominated by then-President Barack Obama for a seat on the Supreme Court, only to have Republican senators block a confirmation hearing, arguing a president shouldn't appoint a justice so close to an election. Ultimately, Garland lost his chance when former President Donald Trump took office and chose Justice Neil Gorsuch to fill the vacant spot.
After Biden defeated Trump in the 2020 election, he tapped Garland to lead the Justice Department, and while it seems likely he'll be confirmed this time, the process has been slow. Republicans still control Senate committees, despite the slim Democratic majority, because the sides haven't reached an agreement on the organizing resolution. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), therefore, is accusing Senate Judiciary Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) of delaying Garland's hearing and has suggested he'll find a way to expedite it.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
For what it's worth, Graham has praised Garland, calling him a "man of great character" and a "sound choice" for the role.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
George Floyd: Did Black Lives Matter fail?
Feature The momentum for change fades as the Black Lives Matter Plaza is scrubbed clean
-
National debt: Why Congress no longer cares
Feature Rising interest rates, tariffs and Trump's 'big, beautiful' bill could sent the national debt soaring
-
Why are military experts so interested in Ukraine's drone attack?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The Zelenskyy government's massive surprise assault on Russian airfields was a decisive tactical victory — could it also be the start of a new era in autonomous warfare?
-
Depleted FEMA struggling as hurricane season begins
speed read FEMA has lost a third of its workforce amid DOGE cuts enforced by President Donald Trump
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report
speed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students
speed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulings
Speed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffs
speed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs
-
Trump pauses all new foreign student visas
speed read The State Department has stopped scheduling interviews with those seeking student visas in preparation for scrutiny of applicants' social media