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Merrick Garland confirmed as U.S. Attorney General

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On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate confirmed Judge Merrick Garland to the role of U.S. attorney general.

President Joe Biden‘s nominee to lead the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) received overwhelming bipartisan support, with the Senate voting 70-30 in favor of confirming Garland, a federal appeals court judge.

RELATED: Merrick Garland dodges questions over allowing for completion of Durham probe

Previously, Garland was put forward by then-President Barack Obama as a moderate nominee to fill the U.S. Supreme Court seat left vacant after conservative Justice Antonin Scalia died in early 2016. However, Senate Republicans led by then-Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) controversially blocked hearings on his nomination, arguing that no appointments should be made to the Supreme Court during a presidential election year.

“After Donald Trump spent four years—four long years—subverting the powers of the Justice Department for his own political benefit, treating the attorney general like his own personal defense lawyer, America can breathe a sigh of relief that we’re going to have someone like Merrick Garland leading the Justice Department,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) before the vote, per the Associated Press. “Someone with integrity, independence, respect for the rule of law and credibility on both sides of the aisle.”

Even Minority Leader McConnell—despite blocking Garland’s 2016 nomination—said he was voting to confirm the judge due to “his long reputation as a straight shooter and a legal expert” and that his “left-of-center perspective” was still within the legal mainstream, per the AP.

“Let’s hope our incoming attorney general applies that no-nonsense approach to the serious challenges facing the Department of Justice and our nation,” the Kentucky Republican added.

You can follow Douglas Braff on Twitter @Douglas_P_Braff.

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BREAKING: Disney drops suit challenging special district status in settlement with Florida, DeSantis

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A settlement was reached Wednesday in the two-year lawsuit over who controls the special governing district that encompasses the Walt Disney World Resort, which includes Disney dropping its lawsuitsagainst a newly created tourism board.

“We are glad that Disney has dropped its lawsuits against the new Central Florida Tourism Oversight District and conceded that their last-minute development agreements are null, void, and unenforceable,” Bryan Griffin, DeSantis’ communications director, said in a statement. “No corporation should be its own government. Moving forward, we stand ready to work with Disney and the District to help promote economic growth, family-friendly tourism, and accountable government in Central Florida.”

Fox News explains the dispute began “after Disney’s criticism of Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act – derided by critics as the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill – prompted the DeSantis administration to revoke the special Disney-controlled tax district that gave the entertainment autonomy over its theme parks in the region.”

“No corporation should be its own government,” Bryan Griffin, a spokesman for the governor, said in an emailed statement. “Moving forward, we stand ready to work with Disney and the District to help promote economic growth, family-friendly tourism, and accountable government in Central Florida.”

Misleadingly deemed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, prohibited the teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity to young students in the state. National Review reports:

After receiving pressure from employees, Disney’s then-CEO, Bob Chapek, said that the company’s leaders had been opposed to the bill “from the outset,” and Disney declared that the legislation “should never have passed and should never have been signed into law.”

In February 2023, DeSantis signed House Bill 9B, which established the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District to replace Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District. Reedy Creek was a 56-year-old special taxing district that allowed Disney control its own development, regulations, building codes, and other municipal services.

Lawmakers voted to give the governor the power to appoint the district’s board members.

However, before a DeSantis-appointed board took over last March, the Disney-controlled board handed control of the district’s development over to Disney…

As part of the settlement, Disney acknowledges that the development agreement approved by the outgoing Reedy Creek board has “no legal effect or enforceability.”

As for the media reports that DeSantis had been humiliated and out-maneuvered by Disney, Griffin said that “as usual, the media were wrong.”

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