United States Attorney General Eric Holder announced on Thursday, September 25, that he would be resigning from his position after six years in a press conference in the White House dining room with Obama. During the press conference, he said although he is stepping down, “[I] will never leave the work… I will continue to serve and try to find ways to make our nation even more true to its founding ideals.” What he meant by that vague statement, is unknown.
Holder said he loved the Justice Department ever since he was a boy, with Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and his role in advancing the civil rights movement. During his time as the U.S. Attorney General, Holder has worked on sentencing reforms, continuing advancement of civil rights (brought to the forefront by the Michael Brown shooting as of late in Ferguson, Missouri), and Voting rights.
However not all of Holder’s actions had partisan support. When Holder got involved to oversee the shooting of Michael Brown, it ruffled a few feathers when he clearly made it evident that he believed there should be a study on police bias, especially with race. Another controversial action tied to Holder, and members of the house are pushing to put him in jail for, is Operation Fast and Furious (not the movie). Fast and Furious entailed licensed firearms dealers purposefully selling firearms to illegal straw buyers, for the purpose of tracking the weapons to the Mexican Cartel leaders and making arrests. This Operation came ‘under fire’ after two guns found at the scene of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry’s fatal shooting in December 2010 were traced to the operation. In 2012, the House voted to hold Holder in contempt of Congress because he refused to turn over documents linked to the operation. The man who led the contempt proceedings in the House, Rep. Darrell Issa, upon hearing of Holder’s resignation, called him “the most divisive U.S. Attorney General in modern history.”
Not all reactions to the first African American U.S Attorney General’s resignation were negative. Rep. Marcia Fudge, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus said Holder’s departure “will leave a significant void in this administration and in our nation.” Holder plans to resign when a replacement is found; there is no indications on how long this could take.
by Christian Aichinger
