Attorney General Eric Holder will resign from the Obama administration according to several news reports, after withstanding several scandals and calls for his resignation.
An Obama veteran, Holder is the fourth-longest serving attorney general in United States History and one of the few original cabinet members of Obama’s ‘team of rivals’ lauded by the media. He is expected to resign after a new Attorney General is confirmed.
Holder is in his sixth year serving as Attorney General, the first African-American in that position.
William Wirt had the longest career as Attorney General, serving 11 years and three months under Presidents James Monroe and John Quincy Adams according to a list put together by Smart Politics.
Former President Bill Clinton’s Attorney General Janet Reno had the second longest career with a term of seven years and 10 months.
If Holder remains in office until December, he will step down as the third longest serving Attorney General beating Homer Cummings, who served under President Franklin Roosevelt for five years and nine months as Attorney General.
In February, Holder indicated to the New Yorker that he would resign at some point this year, but his plans were likely stalled by the crisis in Ferguson, Missouri.
By resigning now, Holder’s successor has a better chance of getting confirmed while Democrats still have the majority in the Senate.
Holder is close to Obama, maintaining a friendly relationship with the president which raised his profile in the Obama administration. He and his wife also vacationed with the Obama family on Martha’s Vineyard in August.
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