By Yucatan Times on January 7, 2021 Share The pick comes after Democrats appear poised to gain control of the Senate, making the task of finding a replacement for the judge far easier. Joe Biden has selected Judge Merrick Garland to serve as his attorney general, according to two people with knowledge of the decision. Biden selected Garland over former Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) and former deputy attorney general Sally Yates, choosing to elevate the former chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals in D.C. to run the Justice Department. In 2016, President Barack Obama nominated Garland to serve on the Supreme Court, but his nomination languished in the GOP-controlled Senate at the end of the former president’s term. In recent weeks, Garland has been recusing himself from cases involving the federal government, fueling speculation that he was a leading candidate for the job.