Buckeye Reporter

U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) recently announced his intention to put roadblocks in the path of Attorney General Merrick Garland in response to the indictment of former President Donald Trump.

"Until Merrick Garland stops using his agency to harass Joe Biden’s political opponents, I will hold all DoJ nominees," Vance wrote in a June 13 Twitter post.

On June 8, Trump was indicted by a federal grand jury relating to his handling of classified documents at his home in Mar-a-Lago, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. The former U.S. President and 2024 Republican candidate was charged with seven counts, including violations related to the Espionage Act, dealing with misuse of classified information and obstruction or false statements. Outrage at the indictment and at Garland has grown, particularly from Republican legislators.

Earlier, in a June 8 tweet, Vance said, “The former president will be indicted for 'mishandling' his own government’s classified info. Yet everyone agrees the President has the authority to declassify anything. This is a moral and constitutional joke. Merrick Garland has disgraced this country.”

In his June 13 tweet, Vance posted a video announcing his plan to oppose Garland. “I’ve heard from a lot of people that they’re so frustrated, as I am, with the fact that Merrick Garland has used the Department of Justice for politics instead of law. I think it’s time we stop whining about this problem and do something about it. I’ve announced today that I will be holding all Department of Justice nominees that Merrick Garland will use if confirmed, not to enforce the law impartially as is his duty, but clearly to harass his political opponents. I think that we have to grind this department to a halt until Merrick Garland promises to do his job and stop going after his political opponents.”

Vance’s hold on DOJ nominees is a way of slowing down the confirmation process and making it more arduous for nominees to pass. According to Politico, his move will likely take place on the Senate floor. That will mean all nominees for DOJ positions will require procedural votes and confirmation votes. It takes only one senator to require this process, and a simple majority vote is sufficient for both rounds.