"Senator Tom Cotton is threatening to hold up Justice Department nominations over concerns that the Biden administration may not be representing U.S. Marshals who are being sued for actions they took defending the Portland federal courthouse in 2020. The Portland federal courthouse was subject to months of attacks by activists protesting police brutality in 2020. It was one of the hottest flashpoints in the debate over law and order ahead of the presidential election. In the wake of those attacks, the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund told Fox News it is representing four deputy U.S. Marshals who were sued by demonstrators, claiming one officer was outright denied legal defense by the DOJ. Cotton gave the DOJ a deadline of 3 p.m. Tuesday to respond to the letter with a "satisfactory answer," or else, he said, "I will be compelled to object to Department nominees both in the Judiciary Committee and on the Senate floor."

One senator alone cannot completely block a presidential nominee from being confirmed. But because of the Senate rules, a single member can drag out debate for days or weeks on routine nominees that otherwise may be confirmed by unanimous consent."

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/tom-cotton-biden-doj-nominees-marshals