Eric Holder will step down today as Attorney General, at least according to NPR. Sources told NPR that Holder plans to remain in his post until a replacement has been confirmed:
Eric Holder Jr., the nation’s first black U.S. attorney general, is preparing to announce his resignation Thursday after a tumultuous tenure marked by civil rights advances, national security threats, reforms to the criminal justice system and five and a half years of fights with Republicans in Congress.
Two sources familiar with the decision tell NPR that Holder, 63, intends to leave the Justice Department as soon as his successor is confirmed, a process that could run through 2014 and even into next year. A former U.S. government official says Holder has been increasingly “adamant” about his desire to leave soon for fear he otherwise could be locked in to stay for much of the rest of President Obama’s second term.
In April, Holder indicated he would not resign until after the midterm elections. Potential replacements are, as of yet, unclear. His tenure with the Department of Justice has been controversial at best, and at its worst, deadly. His radical “civil rights” agenda won’t be missed by most, but Holder hopes the history books will remember him as a hero:
Holder most wants to be remembered for his record on civil rights: refusing to defend a law that defined marriage as between one man and one woman; suing North Carolina and Texas over voting restrictions that disproportionately affect minorities and the elderly; launching 20 investigations of abuses by local police departments; and using his bully pulpit to lobby Congress to reduce prison sentences for non-violent drug crimes.
It’s quite frightening to imagine who will replace Holder. I’d like to think his replacement couldn’t possibly be worse, but this is the Obama administration we’re talking about.
That being said, let’s all hope that Holder doesn’t have his eyes set on the Supreme Court. President Obama is scheduled to make a statement on Holder’s resignation at 4:30 pm EDT.
Updated 9/25 at 12:28 pm
We have a short list for replacements:
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY