Judge Merrick Garland is reportedly not interested in replacing former FBI Director James Comey, despite his name being floated by some members of Congress.
Two friends of Garland told a reporter from NPR that Garland "loves being a judge and he intends to remain on the bench."
Sources also told a reporter from CNN that Garland does not want to lead the FBI.
BREAKING: Two friends of Merrick Garland tell me he "loves being a judge and he intends to remain on the bench" despite calls to run FBI.
— Carrie Johnson (@johnson_carrie) May 16, 2017
Merrick Garland doesn't want to lead FBI, sources tell @Arianedevogue
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) May 16, 2017
Garland, the chief judge on the D.C. Court of Appeals who was nominated to the Supreme Court by former President Barack Obama
Barack Hussein ObamaThe big tent: Unifying America Minnesota health officials say graduation ceremony exposed people to coronavirus Celebrity portraits including Barack Obama and Lin-Manuel Miranda's to be auctioned for COVID-19 relief MORE, has been talked about in recent days as a surprising possible candidate for FBI director after Trump's abrupt firing of Comey last week.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellSenate Republicans call on DOJ to investigate Planned Parenthood loans On The Money: Jobless rate exceeds 20 percent in three states | Senate goes on break without passing small business loan fix | Biden pledges to not raise taxes on those making under 0K The Hill's Campaign Report: Biden seeks to tamp down controversy over remarks about black support MORE (R-Ky.) on Tuesday threw his support behind naming Garland to replace Comey.
"It may surprise people, but he has a deep background in criminal law, he was the prosecutor in the Oklahoma City bombing case and I think it would make it clear that President Trump will continue the tradition at the FBI of having an apolitical professional," McConnell said during an appearance on Bloomberg.
Garland's nomination to the Supreme Court was thwarted when Senate Republicans refused to consider it last year.
