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Eric Holder: I'd Rather Be 'a Player' Than Supreme Court Justice

Eric Holder: I'd Rather Be 'a Player' Than Supreme Court Justice
(Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

By    |   Monday, 06 July 2015 10:52 AM EDT

If former Attorney General Eric Holder were offered a spot on the Supreme Court, he would turn it down.

In an interview with The National Law Journal, Holder was asked how he would respond if a hypothetical President Hillary Clinton were to nominate him for the high court.

"I’d say, 'Madame President, with all due respect, you need to pick somebody who’s a) younger and b) who’s a lot more interested,'" he replied.

Holder said further that when he worked as a judge for the District of Columbia Superior Court, he learned that judges were referees and he wants "to be a player."

Since leaving the Justice Department, Holder has returned to his former law firm,  Covington & Burling, where he was partner for eight years before joining the Obama administration. He was re-elected as partner of the firm on June 29.

Holder, 64, told The National Law Journal that Covington & Burling will be the "last stop" in his career in the legal field.

The former attorney general said that he plans on taking up issues related to race relations, access to justice, reforming the criminal justice system, encouraging attorneys to do more pro bono work, and expanding diversity among those in legal professions.

"I would describe my work as being kind of at the intersection of business, law, public policy, international relations," Holder told the Journal.

"The other thing that brings me back here — the ability to do a whole variety of different and interesting things, in particular in the international sphere. That's where I want to be," he said.

Holder admitted that due to actions he took against financial and corporate institutions during his tenure as attorney general, some may not be quick to work with him. He said the same is true for some members of Congress.

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Politics
If former Attorney General Eric Holder were offered a spot on the Supreme Court, he would turn it down.
eric holder, law, supreme court, Covington and Burling, partner
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2015-52-06
Monday, 06 July 2015 10:52 AM
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