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WASHINGTON (AP) Eric Holder, Americas first black attorney general and an unflinching champion of civil rights in enforcing the nations laws, announced his resignation Thursday after leading the Justice Department since the first days of President Barack Obamas term. He is the fourth-longest-serving attorney general in U.S. history.

Holder, the administrations point man on the civil rights investigation into the police shooting of an unarmed 18-year-old in Ferguson, Mo., wont leave until a replacement is confirmed, which means he could remain in office for months.

Senate Republicans signaled they were preparing for a confirmation fight after years of battles with Holder. Said Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell: I will be scrutinizing the presidents replacement nominee to ensure the Justice Department finally returns to prioritizing law enforcement over partisan concerns.

In an emotional ceremony at the White House, Obama called Holder the peoples lawyer and credited him with driving down both the nations crime and incarceration rate the first time they have declined together in more than 40 years.

Through it all, hes shown a deep and abiding fidelity to one of our most cherished ideals as a people, and that is equal justice under the law, Obama said.

Holder responded by speaking of how he was inspired as a boy by Robert Kennedys leadership on civil rights at the Justice Department, his voice choking as he expressed his thanks to Obama and his own family. You got through it, Obama could be heard telling Holder as the audience stood and applauded.

In a speech earlier this week, Holder described the dual perspective he brought to the job and how it applied to the Ferguson shooting, in which a young black man was shot and killed by a white policeman. He said he had the utmost respect for police as a former prosecutor and the brother of an officer. But, he added, As an African-American man who has been stopped and searched by police in situations where such actions were not warranted, I also carry with me an understanding of the mistrust that some citizens harbor.

Holder told The Associated Press in an interview that hes not sure whether the Justice Department will finish its investigation into the shooting before he leaves. I dont want to rush them, Holder said. He said once out of office, he will direct attention to issues that have animated me during his tenure, including criminal justice and civil rights.

If you asked me what my biggest regret was, I would say that it was the failure to pass any responsible and reasonable gun safety legislation after the shootings in Newtown, Holder said. He said he thought in the aftermath of the school shootings in Connecticut that the nation would embrace change that was not radical but really reasonable on gun ownership.

Holder aggressively enforced the Voting Rights Act, addressed drug-sentencing guidelines that led to disparities between white and black convicts, extended legal benefits to same-sex couples and refused to defend a law that allowed states to disregard gay marriages. He oversaw the decision to prosecute terror suspects in U.S. civilian courts instead of at Guantanamo Bay and helped establish a legal rationale for lethal drone strikes on suspects overseas.

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Holder stepping down as attorney general

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder speaks to a meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors at the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Ark., Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2014. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston) more >

Attorney General Eric Holder announced Friday that the federal government will recognize same-sex marriages in states affected by the Supreme Courts recent decision not to review decisions that overturned marriage bans in those states.

We will not delay in fulfilling our responsibility to afford every eligible couple, whether same-sex or opposite-sex, the full rights and responsibilities to which they are entitled, Mr. Holder said. With their long-awaited unions, we are slowly drawing closer to full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans nationwide.

Heterosexual-marriage advocates were hoping the Supreme Court would overturn several lower court rulings that legalized same-sex marriage. But instead, the nation's highest court declined to even hear the case, essentially letting the lower court rulings stand and gay marriage to become legal.

The states chiefly affected by the ruling are Virginia, Wisconsin, Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah and as of Friday morning Arizona. Mr. Holders announcement was widely expected by legal experts, who point to the administrations quick support of same-sex marriage in any state it becomes legal.

The steady progress toward LGBT equality weve seen and celebrated is important and historic, Mr. Holder said. But there remain too many places in this country where men and women cannot visit their partners in the hospital, or be recognized as the rightful parents of their own adopted children; where people can be discriminated against just because they are gay.

But Mr. Holder did add that the Justice Department would be ready should the debate about same-sex marriage ever eventually reach the Supreme Court.

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Eric Holder: Government will recognize new state same-sex marriages

WASHINGTON (AP) It wasn't difficult for Barack Obama and Eric Holder to be in the same orbit. Both were sons of immigrants, Columbia Ivy Leaguers, basketball fans and prominent African-American political figures.

They first met nearly 10 years ago, dinner guests of a mutual Washington friend who seated Holder next to the newly elected senator from Illinois.

On Thursday, Obama announced Holder would be stepping down as his attorney general, one of his longest serving Cabinet members.

"This is bittersweet," the president said.

Holder, who will stay on the job until his successor is confirmed by the Senate, was at his side.

"In good times and in bad, in things personal and in things professional, you have been there for me," he told Obama.

Indeed, over the course of six years on the job, Holder has had his ups and downs. He also has become a rare figure: a close Washington friend of the president.

As attorney general, Holder aggressively enforced the Voting Rights Act, addressed drug-sentencing guidelines that led to disparities between white and black convicts, extended legal benefits to same-sex couples and refused to defend a law that allowed states to disregard gay marriages. He oversaw the decision to prosecute terror suspects in U.S. civilian courts instead of at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and helped establish a legal rationale for lethal drone strikes on suspects overseas. All were Obama priorities.

He has also been Obama's point man in the federal response to the racial tensions in Ferguson, Missouri, where a white police officer shot and killed an unarmed 18-year-old African-American last month.

"His greatest legacy has been in the areas of civil rights and race," said Carl Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law. He said Holder aimed for a frank discussion in the U.S. about issues surrounding race with a dialogue "that intrinsically defies completion and so remains unfulfilled."

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A departing Obama friend leaves mixed legal legacy

Loop Fans may remember back in July 2013 during one of those many periods when it appeared constantly embattled Attorney General Eric Holder was going to announce hed had enough we launched our When will Holder Resign? contest.

Most folks naturally predicted he would leave by the end of 2013. Some, including a former Holder aide, predicted he would announce his decision in early 2014.

Buta handful predicted Holderwould stay at least until the spring or fall of this year. And, as it turns out, they were right: Holder, the first African American attorney general and the fourth longest serving ever, announced his resignation on Sept. 25.

That made five people winners, all guessing within four months of the actual date.

1. David Cripe, an electrical engineer from Mount Vernon, Iowa was our top winner. Cripe predicted Holder would resign Nov. 1, 2014, missingthe actual resignation date by only five weeks.

2. A communications manager here in Washington (who asked not to be identified)predicted Holder would resign on Aug.1, so he was eight weeks early.

3. Annie Fields, of Marshfield, Mass., was only three months off. She predicted Holderwouldnt call it quits, until Christmas Eve this year.

4. Leslie Beil, an artist and freelance writer from Alexandria thought Holder wouldannounce a week later onNew Years Eve.

5. Michael Lebeau, a systems engineer from New Braunfels, Tex. was four months off, predicting Holder would hang it up in May.

Congratulations and official In the Loop T-Shirts to the winners and thanks to everyone for entering.

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In the Loop: Who won that Loop When Will Holder resign contest?

Eric Holders Troubled Legacy
This segment originally aired on the October 12th, 2014 episode of Ring of Fire on Free Speech TV. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced recently that he would be stepping down as soon...

By: Ring of Fire Radio

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Eric Holders Troubled Legacy - Video