- Attorney General Eric Holder announced his resignation on Thursday
- Holder is a close friend of Obama
- November elections could complicate the nomination and confirmation process
- White House officials say they're confident whoever is chosen will deserve bipartisan confirmation
(CNN) -- Attorney General Eric Holder announced on Thursday that, after six years on the job- making him one of the longest serving AG's in American history- he will be resigning his post. Holder's departure took many by surprise. Though the AG had endured his fair share of controversies, he is also a very close friend and confidant of Obama, someone who for whom the president consistently communicated his full support and who by all accounts seemed to be in it for the long the haul.
"We have been great colleagues, but the bonds between us are much deeper than that," Holder said in a joint statement with Obama, announcing his departure. "I'm proud to call you my friend."
When a replacement might be announced is unknown. Obama thanked Holder for his service on Thursday but he offered no time line for when he may announce a nominee to replace him. Holder pledged to stay on the job until a nominee is selected and confirmed by the senate- and in doing that Holder might have agreed to stay on the job for a while longer. That's because the process of choosing a new AG and getting them approved in a senate confirmation hearing will be a difficult one for the White House. While the list of strong candidates who could assume the role is long, congressional politics and the close personal relationship between Obama and Holder complicate the matter.
The senate is the biggest obstacle. Holder's announcement comes just weeks before the midterm elections where Republicans have a solid chance of reclaiming the majority. Congress, currently on recess while members campaign for re-election, will have a lame duck session in November and December where a confirmation hearing could hypothetically be pushed through, but Congress already has a lot on its plate during that session, most notably a possible vote to expand Obama's authority to execute his military offensive against ISIS. It's highly possible that a confirmation hearing will take place in the next Congress, in 2015, when Republicans may be in control.
White House officials insisted that they weren't concerned about this possibility.
"I do anticipate that Democrats will hold the senate," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters on Thursday. "That said I also anticipate that whoever the nominee is will earn and ultimately receive bipartisan support."
But in this current political climate, bipartisan support is far from certain for any administration appointee, particularly one as high profile as Eric Holder's replacement.
The other issue is less tactical- it's the personal factor. Obama and Holder are good friends and he's a part of the Obama inner circle that includes key adviser Valerie Jarrett, who Holder thanked on Thursday as someone who he had "been fortunate to work with since the beginning of what started as an improbable, idealistic effort by a young senator from Illinois." Furthermore, the issues that Holder has championed- voting rights, LGBT rights, reducing prison sentences for low level drug offenders- are important aspects of Obama's legacy, so this pick will, in all likelihood, be an incredibly important one for him.
Obama gave no hints about possible replacements in his goodbye remarks to Holder. He offered only a small tidbit for what he's looking for in an Attorney General: "I chose him to serve as Attorney General because he believes, as I do, that justice is not just an abstract theory- it's a living and breathing principle."
Who Could Replace Holder as AG?
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