Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin has indicated that Merrick Garland, President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Justice Department will most likely be confirmed next week even as it is only the first day of his confirmation hearing, US media reported.

Durbin told CNN that Garland’s nomination will be approved by the committee in a vote to be held next Monday, and he expects the Senate will confirm the nomination next week.

The Democrat noted that Republicans have agreed not to delay the committee vote to be held on March 1, which they can do for one week under the rules.

Also read: Tackling extremism in the US will be the ‘first priority’, says Merrick Garland

Earlier, Garland told the Senate Committee that currently the extent of far-right extremism in the US is higher than 1995, when he investigated the attack in Oklahoma City which resulted in the death of 168 people. 

Garland, who is currently an appeals court judge in the US, also vowed to ensure that the Department of Justice does not intersect and overlap with politics while citing the alleged interferences by the former administration.