US Attorney General Eric Holder has on Thursday announced his decision to retire after a career of public service and six controversial years at the helm of the Justice Department.
Holder is the 82nd US Attorney General and the first African American to hold the foremost law enforcement position.
In 2009, the Senate unanimously approved his appointment to the prestigious post. Many legislators defended their vote of having confidence in his ability to hold the key government position based on his years as a public prosecutor and successful private career as a lawyer.
Holder is one of three officials still in office who were part of the President Barack Obama's first cabinet. The President has officially confirmed the Attorney General's decision to step down during a press conference at the White House.
Although the President is said to have been unaware of Holder's decision to retire until Thursday, he is reported to have taken the news "without putting up much of a fight".
Josh Earnest, a spokesman for the White House, says the President chose to respect the decision due to the number of years Holder has served in his administration and the country.
The President has praised Holder for his hard work and success in improving how the nation views and handles drug laws, LGBT and civil rights.
Holder will stay in office until a new successor has been named and confirmed by the senate. But reports indicate that the President is at a loss to decide who will replace him.
Many commentators have noted that Holder's tenure has been turbulent, although he managed to score some victories. Critics still decry the failure of the Justice Department to prosecute Wall Street executives, whose corrupt actions are judged to have caused the 2008 financial meltdown.
"He confronted a large number of issues - many of them very complicated, some of them maybe controversial," Earnest says.
Holder became the first sitting Cabinet member in US history to be held in contempt by Congress after he adamantly refused to release documents related to a classified arms operation named "Fast and Furious."
His tenure will be remembered for the wave of criticisms the Justice Department attracted from both Republican and Democratic senators, but also for his controversial media remarks.
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