20 Republicans Who Helped Confirm Garland Owe America an Apology

After Merrick Garland’s Department of Justice oversaw an FBI raid on the private home of former President Donald Trump, the 20 Republicans who joined Democrats to confirm Garland’s nomination as attorney general must emphatically condemn the nominee they once supported or voters should replace them in their primaries.

When Garland was confirmed in March 2021, only 30 of 50 Republican senators voted against it. The other 20 — Senators Blunt, Burr, Capito, Cassidy, Collins, Cornyn, Ernst, Graham, Grassley, Inhofe, Johnson, Lankford, McConnell, Moran, Murkowski, Portman, Romney, Rounds, Thune, and Tillis — all joined Democrats to approve Garland’s nomination.

Some of those 30, like Grassley and Johnson, have since strongly criticized Garland’s tenure as attorney general and had already condemned the raid by Tuesday morning, to their credit. But others have been conspicuously silent, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who praised Garland’s “long reputation as a straight-shooter and legal expert” at the time of his confirmation.