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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