Fellow Illinoisan,

This week, I presided over my first hearing as Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee as we considered the nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to be the next Attorney General of the United States.  There are few moments in history where the role of the Attorney General—and the occupant of that post—have mattered more. 

Should Judge Garland be confirmed, and I have every confidence that he will be, he will oversee the Justice Department at an existential moment in its long and storied history.  After four tumultuous years of intrigue, controversy, and brute political force, the future of the Department is clearly in the hands of the next Attorney General.

DURBIN TO GARLAND: YOU CAN RESTORE THE FAITH OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE IN THE RULE OF LAW

The Justice Department in the previous administration fanned the flames of discrimination.  It bowed to political pressure and began to function as the sitting President’s personal law firm.  But a restored Justice Department—a Department under new leadership—can, and I believe will, meet this important moment.  At a time when the right to vote is under constant assault, when the criminal justice system is in urgent need of reform, when too many Americans face inequality in their daily lives, and when the January 6 attack on the Capitol highlighted the urgent threat of domestic terror, we need the Department of Justice to step up and confront these realities.

Judge Garland’s honesty and integrity shone throughout both days of his nomination hearing. I am confident that he can rebuild the Department’s once hallowed halls, restore the faith of the American people in the rule of law, and deliver equal justice.  It will not be easy, but Judge Garland is the perfect person for this job.  I look forward to his swift and bipartisan confirmation. 

Sincerely,

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL)