Biden says 'no time to waste' on COVID relief bill
He made brief remarks Saturday after the House passed the legislation.
This is Day 40 of the administration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
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Garland hopes to provide calm in chaotic political landscape
During his confirmation hearing, Garland expressed hope that his tenure would help remove the Justice Department from many of the political scandals that have plagued its workforce in recent years.
"I would like for the time that I'm in the Justice Department to turn down the volume on the way in which people view the department, that the Justice Department not be the center of partisan disagreement that, you know, we return to the days when the department does its law enforcement and criminal justice policy, and that this is viewed in a bipartisan way, which for a long time in the history of the department that's the way it was," Garland said. "I know that these are divisive times, I'm not naive, but I would like to do everything I can to have people believe that that's what we're doing."
"You see Judge Garland cognizant of the moment, cognizant of the politics and trying to appeal to some calm among lawmakers," ABC News' Political Director Rick Klein said on ABC News Live.
Garland's confirmation hearing adjourned Monday afternoon and will resume Tuesday morning.
-ABC News' Alexander Mallin
Garland confirmation hearing adjourns for the day
The hearing for the confirmation of Biden's pick for attorney general is adjourned until Tuesday morning.
Garland 'shocked' by videos of Black Americans being killed by law enforcement
Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., in his first line of questioning as a member of the Judiciary Committee, asked Garland how he could use his power as attorney general to make equal justice for all Americans a possibility.
Garland said he was "deeply aware" of the moment the country is in with regards to racial justice and that it was a substantial part of why he wants to be attorney general. He cited over-incarceration of Black Americans and other minorities, reducing the emphasis on prosecuting lower-level crimes like marijuana possession and the need for greater discretion to prosecutors in terms of not pursuing the harshest sentences for crimes that aren't of a violent nature.
Ossoff also said that Tuesday marks the one-year anniversary of the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery and asked Garland how he planned to use the DOJ's authority to ensure that local agencies are held to account.
"What I will say is that like many, many Americans I was shocked by what I saw in videos of Black Americans being killed over this last summer. That, I do think, created a moment in the national life that brought attention from people who had not seen what Black Americans and other members of communities of color had known for decades, but it did bring everything to the fore and created a moment," Garland said. "We have an opportunity to make dramatic changes and really bring forth equal justice under the law which is our commitment of the Justice Department for the Civil Rights Division is the place where we focus these -- these operations."
-ABC News' Alexander Mallin
Senators press Garland on death penalty, hate crimes
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., pushed Garland on his view of the death penalty, noting that convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, whom Garland helped prosecute, was put to death in the early 2000s. Garland said he didn’t regret that but said his thoughts on the death penalty have evolved.
He says Biden has the ability to put a moratorium on the death penalty and ultimately his stance on it will follow the president's.
Multiple senators addressed racial equality and disparities in the justice system as well as the prosecution of hate crimes. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., asked Garland if he felt there were two systems of justice in the United States and Garland said he did. Garland vowed to have the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division aggressively prosecute hate crimes.
"Hate crimes tear at the fabric of our society make our citizens worried about walking on the street and exercising even their most normal rights and the role of the Civil Rights Division is to prosecute those cases, vigorously and I can assure you that it will if I'm confirmed," Garland said.
-ABC News' Luke Barr
Haaland outlines plans for clean energy amid pushback
Biden’s nominee for secretary of the interior, Rep. Deb Haaland, D-Ariz., appeared before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee for the first round of questioning in her confirmation hearing Tuesday.
Haaland introduced herself in the native language of the Laguna Pueblo and thanked her family, her partner and her ancestors. She also acknowledged that the hearing was taking place on the native lands of the Anacostia, Piscataway and Nakochtank tribes.
She said her priorities would be valuing career employees at the Department of the Interior and promoting clean energy. For Native American communities, she said she would focus on bringing broadband access to them and addressing the high number of missing and murdered Native American women. She also talked about her support for a modern Civilian Conservation Corps as a way of offsetting potential job loss from a transition to cleaner energy.
“But we must also recognize that the energy industry is innovating, and our climate challenge must be addressed," she said in her opening statement. "Together we can work to position our nation and all of its people for success in the future, and I am committed to working cooperatively with all stakeholders, and all of Congress, to strike the right balance going forward.”
Throughout the hearing, when questioned about her past statements and positions, Haaland said that if confirmed she would be advancing Biden’s interests. She dodged a question about her stance on fracking, saying the president does not support a fracking ban.
In his opening statement, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said he was troubled by Haaland’s “radical” views, a sentiment also expressed by other Republicans on the committee. He said he would oppose Haaland’s nomination. During his questioning, Barrasso pressed Haaland on an October tweet that said Republicans don’t believe in science.
The committee will be back Wednesday at 10 a.m. for the second round of questioning.
-ABC News' Adia Robinson