Until Merrick Garland stops using his agency to harass Joe Biden’s political opponents, I will hold all DoJ nominees. pic.twitter.com/UVRwi6Ue01

— J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) June 13, 2023

“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 via Twitter.

Vance will be putting holds on nominees to the Justice Department. If any senator places a hold on a nominee, that means there is not unanimous consent, and as a result, the nominee will need to be approved in a floor vote, which will likely make for a longer process. …

“We have Catholic fathers harassed for their pro-life activism,” said Vance. “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.”

[This won’t grind the department to a halt. It won’t grind the Senate to a halt either, but it will slow down both institutions and make life difficult for Merrick Garland and Chuck Schumer. Schumer can get around holds with floor votes, but it adds more work and slows everything else down on the Senate floor. — Ed]