As head of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Garland oversees the federal government’s regulatory scrutiny of the residential real estate brokerage compensation structure. A circuit court panel in Washington, D.C., in December heard the DOJ’s appeal of a January court ruling denying the DOJ’s request to reopen its investigation of the NAR’s Participation Policy and Clear Cooperation Policy. Garland also sought to intervene in other NAR cases related to commission rules and broker fees.