(CNN) Judge Merrick Garland, President Joe Biden's nominee for attorney general, calls the January 6 attack on the US Capitol a "heinous attack" in his prepared opening statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which the Department of Justice released Saturday night ahead of his confirmation hearing on Monday. "The mission remains urgent because we do not yet have equal justice," Garland plans to say. "Communities of color and other minorities still face discrimination in housing, education, employment, and the criminal justice system." Barring any surprises at his hearing, he's poised to become Biden's first attorney general, bringing a longtime jurist with a steadying hand to a department that's teetering between crises. Garland has served in the Justice Department as an assistant US Attorney in Washington, DC, and if confirmed by the Senate will step away from 24 years on the bench.

Source: CNN February 21, 2021 03:17 UTC