Merrick Garland
U.S. Attorney General
Merrick Brian Garland was born in November 1952 in Chicago, Illinois. He earned an undergraduate degree and Juris Doctor from Harvard University. He spent two years as a law clerk at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and then clerked for Justice William Brennan at the U.S. Supreme Court. He served as a special assistant to the U.S. Attorney General during President Carter’s administration, then entered private practice.
Returning to public service, he became an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Columbia, working as a prosecutor. He briefly returned to private practice, then joined President Clinton’s administration as deputy assistant attorney general in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
President Clinton nominated Garland to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. His nomination expired without action from the Senate, but President Clinton renominated him. He received Senate confirmation and assumed his seat in March 1997. He was that court’s Chief Judge for 17 years.
After the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, Garland was appointed by President Obama to fill that vacancy. That nomination expired with the end of the 114th Congress.
President Joe Biden nominated him to the position of U.S. Attorney General. Garland retired from judicial service and the Senate confirmed his appointment. He assumed his position in March 2021.
Garland is married to Lynn and they have two daughters. He is Jewish.
In the News…
The Justice Department has received allegations of having a double standard after its investigations into classified materials found in several locations at President Joe Biden’s house as well as his think-tank office have been compared with the seizing of documents from former President Donald Trump’s home in Florida last August.
In his first public comments on the matter, Attorney General Merrick Garland stated, “We do not have different rules for Democrats or Republicans, different rules for the powerful or the powerless, different rules for the rich and for the poor; we apply the facts and the law in each case in a neutral, non-partisan manner.” He added, “That is what we always do.”
The attorney general has appointed special counsels in both cases to determine if laws were broken.
Contact this Leader…
Did you pray for Attorney General Garland today? You can let him know at:
The Honorable Merrick Garland
Attorney General
Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20530
