Mitch McConnell 'thinks Merrick Garland would make fantastic FBI Director' after denying him Supreme Court seat
Efforts to fill the empty FBI director seat left behind by James Comey with Merrick Garland, could have support from one seemingly unlikely corner in Washington: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
A former aide to Mr McConnell, the leading Republican in the Senate who mounted an unprecedented effort to stop Mr Garland from being put on the Supreme Court, has said that his former boss thinks Mr Garland might be a good choice to lead the FBI.
“He certainly thinks he will be qualified. And he certainly thinks he would be somebody that he could support,” Josh Holmes, a former advisor to Mr McConnell, said on Fox News.
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“I think the Senate majority leader thinks that’s a fantastic idea” Mr Holmes said.
Supporting the nomination of Mr Garland to run the FBI would be a significant about-face for the senator, though the idea of instating Mr Garland as FBI director may actually be more attractive for Republicans than one would see upon first glance.
The idea of sending Mr Garland over to the J. Edgar Hoover Building was reportedly first floated by Republican Senator Mike Lee, and the idea quickly gained steam in Washington among both Democrats and Republicans.
But, whether or not Mr Garland would even be interested in the position is questionable.
Mr Garland currently serves as the chief justice on the DC Circuit federal appeals court, a position that is a lifetime appointment. Choosing to walk away from that position — a leading spot on one of the most powerful courts in the country — for a job that would leave him at the mercy of the whims of President Donald Trump, may not be the perfect choice for the judge, even if Democrats have said it sounds like a good idea following his being snubbed by Senate Republicans on his nomination to the Supreme Court last year.
