Garland grilled on school board memo, Hunter Biden, Jan. 6 at House Judiciary hearing

Attorney General Merrick Garland faced tough questions on a wide range of subjects Thursday at a House Judiciary Committee hearing dedicated to oversight of the Justice Department at a time when the agency is in the middle of several high-profile cases and controversies.

One main issue that Republicans seized on was Garland's recent memo to Justice Department employees about intervening in incidents of violence or intimidation targeting state and local school board officials. GOP lawmakers have criticized Garland for overstepping by getting involved in matters that should be handled by state and local law enforcement, and for issuing the memo days after the National School Boards Association asked the Biden administration to utilize tools, including the terrorism-related Patriot Act, to deal with these situations. The NSBA cited incidents of non-violent disruption of school board meetings where parents voiced their concerns about issues such as the teaching of critical race theory, prompting Republicans to voice fears that federal involvement will influence conservatives to keep quiet instead of continuing to engage with officials.

Committee ranking member Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, attempted to show a video of parents at school board meetings during his opening remarks, but Chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., refused, claiming that Jordan did not provide 48 hours' notice. Jordan stated that there is no official rule requiring such notice, but Nadler did not allow the video to be shown.

Garland did not directly address the school board issue in his opening statement. He did make general comments about protecting Americans from threats, while also safeguarding people's freedoms.