US Attorney General Eric Holder to resign: officials

WASHINGTON, USA – Attorney General Eric Holder, the top US law enforcement official and one of President Barack Obama’s closest aides, will resign on Thursday, September 26, White House and Justice Department officials said.

Holder was the first African-American to be named as attorney general and, at more than 6 years, has served the 4th longest tenure of anyone to hold the post.

The White House said Obama will make a “personnel announcement” at 4:30 pm (2030 GMT) Thursday.

Holder is also one of just 3 original cabinet members serving Obama in the White House, along with Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

Holder’s tenure is notable for significant inroads made in the civil rights arena, including gains in rights and benefits for same-sex couples and reductions in prison sentences for certain drug offenses.

His time in office, however, was marked by rocky relations with Congress, latterly dominated by Obama’s Republican opponents.

In June 2012, the House of Representatives voted to hold him in contempt for what it deemed his lack of cooperation on an investigation into “Operation Fast and Furious.”

This was a bungled US federal sting that sought to probe weapons trafficking along the US-Mexico border, but ended up accidentally allowing arms to fall into the hands of gangs.

He was frequently called to appear before Congress for hearings that were remarkable for their heated and hostile rhetoric from both Holder and lawmakers.

Holder’s career prior to going to work for Obama was distinguished by a number of law enforcement firsts. In 1993 he was named the first African-American appointed as US attorney in Washington, DC.

He was appointed in 1988 by late Republican president Ronald Reagan to the post of superior court judge, and earned a reputation as a jurist who was tough on crime.
During the Bill Clinton administration, Holder served as deputy attorney general under Janet Reno in the Clinton administration — again, the first African-American to serve in that slot. – Rappler.com