NEW Profile: Meet Matt Klapper. He's Merrick Garland's chief of staff, a former top Cory Booker aide and a former New Jersey firefighter. by @cryanbarber ($) @thisisinsider businessinsider.com/merrick-garlan…
Biden's transition assigned Klapper as Garland's "navigator" during the nomination process, based on his background in Booker's office and with the Senate Judiciary Committee, according to a person familiar with Garland's confirmation process.
As Booker's top aide, he had been closely involved in the Senate on criminal justice reform, including legislation last year named after George Floyd following his death in the custody of Minneapolis police.
It was hardly assured that the pairing would lead to Klapper joining Garland at the Justice Department. But the longtime Booker aide impressed Garland in the confirmation process, according to people familiar with his selection as chief of staff.
The incoming attorney general appreciated Klapper's extensive background in the Senate and saw it as offering a skillset that would complement a veteran, devoutly apolitical judge with a professional aversion to Washington's partisan battles.
Klapper declined to comment through a Justice Department spokesperson. His former boss, however, was anything but shy in praising a trusted aide now working at Garland's side.
"Matt just blew him away in that role, and Merrick made him the offer, which is pretty stunning," Sen. Cory Booker said in an interview with @thisisinsider on Thursday just hours after Garland took the oath of office to be sworn in as attorney general.
"But Matt is really one of the more talented human beings I've ever worked with, and it's actually not stunning if you know Matt and how impressive he is," Booker added.
Check out the full report on Merrick Garland's CoS, including his years as a NJ firefighter, by subscribing to @thisisinsider - Here's how: businessinsider.com/subscription
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