Garland’s nomination to the court was always iffy. Libertarians thought his track record was dangerously authoritarian. The trustees of the estate of the late Justice William Brennan, for whom Garland had clerked, inexplicably sealed records having to do with Garland’s time working at the court. And though Garland was touted as a “moderate,” a straight-shooter who could cruise to an easy confirmation, he satisfied neither the Democratic left nor the Republican center.

But what Garland has demonstrated as AG is a different kind of deficit, a deficit of character and integrity. As Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said to Garland in hearings this week, “Thank God you are not on the Supreme Court.”

Those hearings involved Garland’s inexplicable decision to target federal law-enforcement resources at parents who speak against critical race theory and unpopular transgender policies at school-board meetings. In response to a letter from the left-leaning National School Boards Association, which described those meetings with lurid language but scant evidence of any real threats, Garland ordered the FBI and the Department of Justice into action.

There was no justification for Garland’s move, which was political thuggery at its worst.