President Obama announced the resignation of Attorney General Eric Holder Thursday, lamenting the “bittersweet” exit of one of his original Cabinet members but saying his extensive portfolio on civil rights earned him the title of the “people’s lawyer.”
“He believes as I do that justice is not just an abstract theory,” Obama said of Holder, from the White House. “It’s a living and breathing principle.”
Holder, who served as the administration’s point man on civil rights and a series of tricky national security issues, signaled his departure more than a month ahead of November’s midterms. The White House is banking that by moving swiftly on Holder’s successor, it will be easier to get their nominee through the Senate if Republicans win back the upper chamber.
Holder, the nation’s fourth-longest-serving attorney general, will remain in the post until his replacement is confirmed.
“Work remains to be done, but our list of accomplishments is real,” Holder said, holding back tears.
“I will leave the Department of Justice, but I will never leave the work,” he added.
The White House insists that Obama has not made a decision on his next attorney general, but early candidates include Solicitor General Donald Verrilli, California Attorney General Kamala Harris and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.
Holder became a lightning rod for the Obama White House, inviting GOP scorn over the botched “Fast and Furious” gunwalking probe and his refusal to prosecute those involved in the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservative groups.
Some liberals held Holder responsible for failed efforts to close the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and said he didn’t do enough to prosecute Wall Street crimes.
Progressives, however, argue that Holder did more on civil rights than any attorney general in decades. They point to his work to counteract the Supreme Court’s overturning of the centerpiece of the Voting Rights Act and the ongoing Justice Department civil rights investigation into the police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.
Holder has also led the administration’s efforts to scrap mandatory minimum prison sentences, which Obama has called racially biased.
In a briefing with reporters, White House officials said Obama initially attempted to get Holder to stay on longer but relented when it was clear that his longtime personal friend wanted to move on.
Holder has not yet indicated his next step.
With Holder’s exit, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack are the lone remaining members from Obama’s original Cabinet in 2009.
