Reports: Attorney General Holder to Remain in Administration

Attorney General Eric Holder will remain in his post for at least another year, acceding to President Barack Obama’s wish for a smooth transition into his second term, multiple news sources are reporting.

 

Holder, who has come under repeated fire from Republicans throughout his term in office, was expected to be among those leaving the administration in January.

 

But he has agreed to stay on, Fox News reports, quoting a senior administration official.

 

Holder’s decision to stay comes despite a congressional vote of contempt against him during the summer. He has been the subject of heavy criticism, most notably for his department’s role in the Fast and Furious gunrunning scandal.

 

The Wall Street Journal reported over the weekend that Holder had agreed to stay as part of an article about potential changes in the Obama team brought about by the likely departures of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, and senior White House adviser David Plouffe — as well as the resignation of CIA chief David Petraeus due to a sex scandal.

 

Others who were expected to leave at the end of the first term — including Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood — were both likely to stay on for at least part of Obama’s second term, the Journal reported.