Five years after Merrick Garland’s nomination to the Supreme Court by then President Barack Obama was blocked by Republicans, the distinguished judge has been nominated as the Attorney General.

He won by a comfortable majority in a 70-30 vote, cutting across party lines. The widely respected judge was nominated by President Biden to restore the independence of the judiciary.

Garland’s grandparents had reached the United States of America several decades ago; to escape anti-Semitism. He tearfully recounted this experience at his confirmation and said that he felt obliged to serve the country and to pay back for all the protection he and his family have received. He said, “This is the highest, best use of my own set of skills to pay back.”

Garland is a moderate judge who has several years of experience as a prosecutor. He has helped high profile trials reach fruition through his meticulous efforts and cool head in tense situations. Some of his greater successes include his help in gathering important details that assisted in convicting Timothy McVeigh and co-conspirator Terry Nichols in the Oklahoma bombing. A federal building was bombed and 168 people were killed.

He also helped in the standoff with Montana Freemen, an armed, anti-government extremist group, who believed that they did not need to follow the laws of the nation. His past experience will be of utmost importance in his present duties of dealing with the swathes of extremism that have gripped the nation, once again, in the recent past. Many Republicans also believe that he is the right choice as his temperament in dealing with sensitive matters is the need of the hour.

Garland has said that his highest priority is to bring to book the rioters who overran the Capitol on January 6, bringing mayhem, violence and death in the aftermath of their protests. He also said that that he would follow the money trial to find the people who allegedly would have funded and organized the riots, while lawmakers were meeting to certify the 2020 presidential elections.

The 86^th Attorney General of the nation, Merrick Garland has pledged his efforts to bring the Justice Department to normal order. In the last four years, under former president Donald Trump’s administration there were unnecessary personal attacks on FBI agents and prosecutors. There were also allegations that the Justice Department had become partisan and some members used their power to hurt Trump’s enemies and to help his allies.