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| Attorney General Eric Holder to step down | Attorney General Eric Holder to step down |
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| Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., an original member of President Obama’s Cabinet and a vocal proponent of civil rights and criminal justice reform, plans to leave the post as soon as a successor is confirmed. | Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., an original member of President Obama’s Cabinet and a vocal proponent of civil rights and criminal justice reform, plans to leave the post as soon as a successor is confirmed. |
| President Obama will make an announcement about Holder Thursday afternoon, according to White House officials. | President Obama will make an announcement about Holder Thursday afternoon, according to White House officials. |
| “After serving for nearly six years as the head of the Justice Department, Holder is the first African American to be Attorney General of the United States and will be the fourth longest person to hold the position,” a White House official, who asked not to be identified because the announcement had not been made yet, said in an e-mail. | “After serving for nearly six years as the head of the Justice Department, Holder is the first African American to be Attorney General of the United States and will be the fourth longest person to hold the position,” a White House official, who asked not to be identified because the announcement had not been made yet, said in an e-mail. |
| “Holder’s accomplishments have established a historic legacy of civil rights enforcement and restoring fairness to the criminal justice system. Holder revitalized the Department’s praised Civil Rights Division, protected the rights of the LGBT community, successfully prosecuted terrorists, and fought tirelessly for voting rights, to name a few. He will remain at the Department of Justice until his post is filled.” | “Holder’s accomplishments have established a historic legacy of civil rights enforcement and restoring fairness to the criminal justice system. Holder revitalized the Department’s praised Civil Rights Division, protected the rights of the LGBT community, successfully prosecuted terrorists, and fought tirelessly for voting rights, to name a few. He will remain at the Department of Justice until his post is filled.” |
| Although the White House does not plan to announce a replacement Thursday, there are several possible contenders for Holder’s successor, including U.S. Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr.; former White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler, who left this year to return to private practice in New York; Loretta E. Lynch, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York; and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D), who is retiring from that office. | |
| When Holder — a personal friend of the president’s, who has clashed with congressional Republicans on issues ranging from voting rights to the department’s “Fast and Furious” anti-weapons smuggling program — would leave office has been one of Washington’s great guessing games. | When Holder — a personal friend of the president’s, who has clashed with congressional Republicans on issues ranging from voting rights to the department’s “Fast and Furious” anti-weapons smuggling program — would leave office has been one of Washington’s great guessing games. |
| Holder discussed his plans personally with Obama on several occasions in recent months, according to a Justice Department official, and finalized those plans in an hour-long conversation with the president at the White House residence over Labor Day weekend. | Holder discussed his plans personally with Obama on several occasions in recent months, according to a Justice Department official, and finalized those plans in an hour-long conversation with the president at the White House residence over Labor Day weekend. |
| At a formal announcement later Thursday, the official added, Holder will thank the president for giving him the change to lead the Justice Department, which he will call the “greatest honor of my professional life.” | At a formal announcement later Thursday, the official added, Holder will thank the president for giving him the change to lead the Justice Department, which he will call the “greatest honor of my professional life.” |
| Thursday morning the attorney general called two iconic figures from the 1960s to inform them of the news: Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a prominent civil rights leader, and Ethel Kennedy, the widow of the late Robert F. Kennedy. Holder has a portrait of the former attorney general hanging in his office. | |
| NPR first reported the news of Holder’s departure late Thursday morning. | NPR first reported the news of Holder’s departure late Thursday morning. |
| Close friends said Holder had been exhausted by his job at times and had earlier considered leaving several times, especially last summer and fall, when he was facing pillorying from Hill Republicans over the department’s handling of the Fast and Furious gun program. But Holder was very reluctant to leave his Justice post at a low point, and he wanted to depart on his own terms. | Close friends said Holder had been exhausted by his job at times and had earlier considered leaving several times, especially last summer and fall, when he was facing pillorying from Hill Republicans over the department’s handling of the Fast and Furious gun program. But Holder was very reluctant to leave his Justice post at a low point, and he wanted to depart on his own terms. |
| An earlier low period came when Obama’s then-chief of staff Rahm Emanuel fought Holder on his highly public announcement that he hoped to try terror suspects in federal courts, part of his legal team’s work to help close a U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and deliver on an early campaign promise of Obama. In one infamous incident, Holder and Emanuel reportedly cursed each other out when Emanuel said Holder’s Guantanamo work was going to undercut his White House efforts to reform health care. | An earlier low period came when Obama’s then-chief of staff Rahm Emanuel fought Holder on his highly public announcement that he hoped to try terror suspects in federal courts, part of his legal team’s work to help close a U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and deliver on an early campaign promise of Obama. In one infamous incident, Holder and Emanuel reportedly cursed each other out when Emanuel said Holder’s Guantanamo work was going to undercut his White House efforts to reform health care. |
| Holder now announces his resignationafter a series of successes in the past year, having received accolades from community activists for his leadership in investigating and responding to the police shooting of an unarmed teenager in Ferguson, Mo. Holder has often spoken about race relations in blunter terms than the president. | |
| While Holder has no immediate plans once he steps down, the Justice official said, he has spoken with friends and colleagues about establishing some sort of center or institute to continue his work on restoring trust between law enforcement and minority communities. | |
| Civil rights advocates lauded Holder Thursday for his work: Marc Morial, president and chief executive of the National Urban League, called his “the best attorney general for civil rights in modern history.” | |
| The Rev. Al Sharpton said Holder’s “reward for standing up on all these issues was to be the only attorney general to be held in contempt by the U.S. Congress.” | |
| Republicans, however, made their dislike for Holder clear, even as he prepared to exit the government. Rep. Charles W. Boustany, Jr. (R-La.) , said in a statement he was “disappointed at the political, combative and uncooperative legacy he built at the Department of Justice, whose credibility depends on unbiased enforcement of the law.” | |
| “He set a bad precedent for future Attorneys General and undermined the trust of the American people in their government,” Boustany said. “I hope President Obama’s nominee to replace the Attorney General keeps this in mind as our nation confronts deep challenges moving forward.” | |
| While well-respected by many in the legal and activist community, Holder will be exiting his position in relatively low public regard. Nearly four in 10 Americans are unable to rate him, but among those who do, his negative ratings are twice as large as his positive ones, according to a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. | While well-respected by many in the legal and activist community, Holder will be exiting his position in relatively low public regard. Nearly four in 10 Americans are unable to rate him, but among those who do, his negative ratings are twice as large as his positive ones, according to a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. |
| Carol D. Leonnig, Hamil Harris, Ed O’Keefe and Peyton Craighill contributed to this report. |