U.S. Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, said Tuesday he will block any Department of Justice nominees until Attorney General Merrick Garland stops using his agency's resources to harass political opponents.
Vance announced his plan from the steps of the Capitol Building in a video posted on his Twitter account. It came on the same day former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty in Miami after being arraigned on a 37-count federal indictment regarding his handling of classified documents.
"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," Vance said. "I think it's time we stop just whining about this problem and debating this problem and actually do something about it."
Vance is taking a page from the playbook of fellow Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., who has pledged to block the promotions of senior military officers until the Pentagon reverses its policy subsidizing abortions. But it's not just Republicans. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., chair of the Energy Committee, is blocking any nominations to the Environmental Protection Agency as he spars with the Biden administration over energy policy.
"I think 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 said. "Donald Trump is just one and the most recent example of the fact that Merrick Garland uses his department for political purposes.
"We have Catholic fathers harassed for their pro-life activism. We, of course, have violent criminals walking the streets after the 2020 summer of riots. If you're letting the violent criminals go free and you're harassing Christian parents for their political activism, you're not engaged in justice, you're engaged in politics."
According to a news release from Vance's office, his hold will prevent the Senate from quickly approving President Joe Biden's nominees by unanimous consent, as the Senate often does. Instead, each DOJ nominee will require a floor vote in order to be confirmed by the Senate, which will take more time and make nominations more difficult to approve. Vance's hold does not include nominees for the U.S. Marshals Service.
"Let's make this department work a little bit more slowly until Merrick Garland changes course and actually does his job the right way," Vance said.
In an email to Newsmax, a DOJ spokespersson declined to comment.
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