President-elect Joe Biden has selected Merrick Garland, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and a former Supreme Court nominee, as U.S. attorney general, according to a person familiar with the decision.
Garland beat out other candidates on the shortlist including former Sen. Doug Jones (D-Al.) and onetime deputy attorney general Sally Yates.
Then-President Obama previously nominated Garland to the Supreme Court in 2016 to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) never allowed a vote on Garland and the seat was ultimately taken by Justice Neil Gorsuch in 2017.
