Attorney-general exits after 6 years
Holder’s tenure was in many ways defined by his efforts on civil rights protections
Attorney General Eric Holder bid farewell to the Justice Department yesterday after six years, outlining what he said were his major accomplishments and telling staffers that they helped produce a “golden age” in the department’s history.
An emotional Holder, who has served as the nation’s top law enforcement official since the start of the Obama administration, addressed hundreds of lawyers and staff members one day after his successor, Loretta Lynch, was confirmed by the Senate following a months-long delay.
“I am proud of you. I’m going to miss you. I am going to miss this building. I am going to miss this institution. More than anything, I am going to miss you all,” Holder told the standing-room-only crowd, many of whom embraced him after he concluded his speech.
The event also included a tribute video prepared for the occasion that featured members of Congress, former president Bill Clinton and Holder’s wife, Sharon Malone. In it, Holder described an “emotional attachment” to the department and recounted efforts to protect civil rights, prosecute terror suspects in federal court and change the criminal justice system. Other clips showed President Barack Obama showering Holder with praise on the day Holder announced his departure.
Holder, a former judge and US attorney who took the job in 2009, will exit the department as the third-longest serving attorney general in US history. He has not publicly announced what he’ll be doing next.
His tenure was in many ways defined by his efforts on civil rights protections. His department challenged state laws that it saw as restricting access to the voting booth and refused to defend the constitutionality of a federal law banning recognition of gay marriage. Holder also pushed for changes in the criminal justice system, directing prosecutors to sharply limit their use of harsh mandatory minimum sentences and championing alternatives to prison for non-violent drug defendants.
Though Holder sees civil rights as a defining element of his legacy, his early years largely centered on national security concerns as the country confronted several terror plots, including a failed effort to blow up a Detroitbound airliner in 2009.