By Allan Lengel
Well, the second time was the charm.
After failing to even get a vote before the Senate on his Supreme Court nomination in 2016, the Senate on Wednesday confirmed Merrick Garland as the new attorney general.
The vote was 70-30, with nearly half the Republicans voting in his favor.
Garland is known as a moderate.
Before the vote, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Garland had a “long reputation as a straight-shooter and legal expert” and that his left-leaning views were “within the legal mainstream,” the Washington Post reports.
Maritza Perez, Director of the Office of National Affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance, issued a statement after the confirmation:
“We congratulate Judge Garland on his successful confirmation vote today. During this confirmation process, we were encouraged to hear that he agrees with us on many very important drug policy issues, such as allowing states to regulate marijuana without fear of federal intervention, eradicating the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine offenses, and ending mandatory minimums.”
