Biden Administration Attorney General Nominee Merrick Garland has pledged not to follow in the footsteps of the Obama-Biden Administration Attorneys General and act as a “wingman” for the President.  He will almost certainly be confirmed with bipartisan support.

However, the same cannot be said about Associate Attorney General Nominee Vanita Gupta and Civil Rights Division nominee Kristin Clarke.  Arguably, Judge Garland’s toughest moment in the hearing yesterday came when “Garland appeared to lose his composure as he defended Gupta and Clarke.”

The nomination of D.C. Circuit Judge Merrick Garland to be U.S. Attorney General has been hailed as a moderate pick for the incoming Biden Administration. However, as Hans von Spakovsky pointed out in a Fox News op-ed this past weekend, Garland may have his work cut out for him maintaining the nonpartisan ideals of the Department considering the other individuals that Joe Biden intends to nominate to join him at the Department — specifically, Vanita Gupta and Kristen Clarke.