Eric H. Holder Jr., who made history as the nation’s first African American attorney general and became an icon among liberals but a divisive figure for many conservatives, will leave his post as soon as a successor is confirmed, President Obama announced Thursday.
In an emotional ceremony at the White House, Obama paid tribute to one of the last original members of his Cabinet and a close personal friend, saying Holder “has done a superb job.’’ Holder, fighting back tears, cited what he called a list of accomplishments ranging from protecting voting rights to reforming the criminal justice system.
“I have loved the Department of Justice ever since, as a young boy, I watched Robert Kennedy prove during the Civil Rights Movement how the department can – and must – always be a force for that which is right,’’ said Holder, who said he was ending four decades of public service that has included work as a prosecutor, judge and Justice Department official. “I hope that I have done honor to the faith you placed in me, Mr. President.’’
Throughout the day on Thursday, tributes to Holder poured in from Democrats, civil rights leaders and others, who called him an influential proponent of civil rights and sentencing and drug law reforms who also helped protect Americans from terrorist attacks.
“His resignation is a great loss for any American seeking justice in our society,” said Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., a legendary figure in the civil-rights movement who spoke to Holder on Thursday.
But Holder’s pending departure – while not unexpected, since he had considered leaving several times before – immediately reignited the partisan battles over his legacy that marked much of his nearly six-year tenure. Even as the attorney general privately informed top Justice Department staff on Thursday of his plan to leave, Republicans blasted him as a liberal activist focused more on pursuing his own agenda than enforcing the law.
“Eric Holder is the most divisive U.S. Attorney General in modern history,’’ Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said in a statement. “By needlessly injecting politics into law enforcement, Attorney General Holder’s legacy has eroded more confidence in our legal system than any Attorney General before him. Through strong arming reporters, practically ignoring high level wrongdoing, blocking his own agency Inspector General’s access to information . . . Attorney General Holder abused his office.’’
It was Issa who was behind perhaps the most ignominious moment in Holder’s tenure, when the House voted in 2012 to hold him in contempt of Congress over his handling of the department’s controversial “Fast and Furious” program to prevent weapons smuggling.
Although the White House did not announce a replacement Thursday, people familiar with the search said there are several possible contenders to succeed Holder. They include: U.S. Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr.; Jenny Durkan, who is stepping down as U.S. attorney in Seattle next week; former White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler, who left this year to return to private practice in New York; and Loretta E. Lynch, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
When Holder – who has clashed with Republicans on other issues such as voting rights in a number of searing congressional hearings – would leave office has been one of Washington’s great guessing games.
People familiar with the attorney general’s thinking said he has found the job exhausting at times and had especially considered leaving last summer and fall in the heat of the Fast and Furious battle. But Holder was reluctant to leave his Justice post at a low point, and he wanted to depart on his own terms.
Now that Holder feels he has accomplished more in recent months in the areas of prison and sentencing reform and helped restart a national conversation about racial justice in light of the shooting of an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Mo., the people said, he feels more comfortable with leaving government.
Another factor, said people who have spoken with Holder, came when Holder was treated at a Washington hospital in February for an elevated heart rate after he experienced lightheadedness and shortness of breath during a morning staff meeting. The incident, the people said, made Holder reevaluate his life and his priorities going forward.
The attorney general plans to leave the post as soon as a successor is confirmed.
