Presumptive President-elect Joseph R. Biden is considering tapping Merrick Garland as attorney general.
NPR reported Friday Mr. Garland, the former chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, is on Mr. Biden’s shortlist for the post.
Mr. Garland became a household name in 2016 when then-President Barack Obama nominated him to the vacancy on the Supreme Court created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, a conservative icon.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, however, blocked the confirmation, saying the vacancy should be filled by the next president - after voters had their say in the election.
President Trump filled the spot with Neil Gorsuch in 2017.
Mr. McConnell sang a different tune this year following the death of Ruth Bader Ginsberg, a liberal star, by rushing through Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation before the election.
