Thursday, President-elect Joe Biden announced key nominations for the Department of Justice.
Judge Merrick Garland, a Department of Justice veteran and independent jurist on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, has been nominated as the United States' new Attorney General. He will succeed William Barr, who resigned last month after stating that the Justice Department found no evidence of voter fraud that would change the outcome of the presidential election.
A consensus-building voice, Judge Garland has worked under Democratic and Republican administrations. He led investigations into some of the most high-profile cases and crises in modern history, including the "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski, and coordinated the government's response to the Oklahoma City bombing.
Lisa Monaco, a veteran prosecutor, will serve as Deputy Attorney General. She was the first woman confirmed as Assistant Attorney General for National Security and was one of the most senior women on President Obama's national security team. Monaco also served as a senior official in the Office of the Deputy Attorney General and as a career prosecutor. She served as counsel and Chief of Staff to then-FBI Director Robert Mueller, and as White House Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Advisor..
Vanita Gupta was named as Associate Attorney General. As the Indian-American daughter of immigrants, she would be the first woman of color to serve in this role. A former Acting Assistant Attorney General, she is one of the best-known and most respected civil rights attorneys in the country.
Kristen Clarke is Biden's nominee for Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.
In a statement, Biden said these nominees will "restore the independence of the Department so it serves the interests of the people not a presidency, rebuild public trust in the rule of law, and work tirelessly to ensure a fairer and equitable justice system."
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