Merrick Garland on Federalist Society

Attorney General Merrick Garland has a documented history of participation in events hosted by the Federalist Society, including serving as a speaker on several occasions before his current cabinet role. The biographical information notes that he spoke at events spanning from 2008 to 2012 on topics such as prosecutorial misconduct, civil procedure, and public corruption. The organization explicitly states that a person's appearance on their speaker list does not imply endorsement or any other relationship between the individual and the Society, nor does it edit the biographical information provided by the speaker.

In contrast to his past participation as a speaker, Garland's tenure as Attorney General has involved an adversarial relationship with the organization's stated goals concerning administrative law. Specifically, he revoked key Trump-era Department of Justice memos—the Sessions and Brand memos—that aimed to restrict the use of agency guidance documents in enforcement actions, replacing them with a policy that makes it easier for the DOJ to issue and rely on guidance. Critics from within the reform movement view this action as a departure from previous efforts at self-restraint within the executive branch, while others who favor regulation see it as correcting overly restrictive policies.