Judge Merrick Garland was taking a barrage of questions Monday as part of his Senate confirmation hearing to become U.S. Attorney General.
The questioning was expected to run the gamut from Hunter Biden and Andrew Cuomo all the way to the specifics of how he plans to run the Justice Department.
President Joe Biden nominated Garland, whose current job is serving on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, on Jan. 7.
In his opening remarks to the committee, released over the weekend, Garland signaled he will launch an investigation into the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
“If confirmed, I will supervise the prosecution of white supremacists and others who stormed the Capitol on January 6 — a heinous attack that sought to disrupt a cornerstone of our democracy: the peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected government,” his opening statement reads.
In the absence of comments about a few other polarizing topics, it is expected that Republicans will present questions on the Russia probe, the Hunter Biden tax affair and New York Gov. Cuomo’s nursing home scandal.
Among the topics as Monday moved along was a direct question about defunding the police.
“President Biden … does not support defunding the police and neither do I,” Garland said in response to a question from Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley. “We saw how difficult the lives of police officers were in the bodycam videos when they were defending the capitol.
“I do believe, and President Biden believes, in giving resources to police departments to help them reform and gain the trust of their communities.”
The first day of the hearing is expected to last into the evening before adjourning until it picks up again on Tuesday at 10 a.m. ET.
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