Eric Holder to resign as U.S. attorney general

Watch President Obama speak on Attorney General Eric Holder’s resignation.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder will be stepping down from his position at the Justice Department.

President Barack Obama made the announcement at a press conference at the White House on Thursday afternoon.

A White House official has announced that U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder will resign Thursday. Photo by Alex Wong and Getty Images

Holder, the nation’s first black attorney general, has handled several high-profile cases, most recently launching a full-scale investigation of the Ferguson, Missouri police department after the shooting of an unarmed man. He also was active in civil rights and immigration during his six-year tenure.

On July 31, Holder sat down with Gwen Ifill to discuss immigration, death penalty reforms and voting rights in an exclusive interview:

Holder, 63, has served as the fourth longest attorney general in history.

His term was marked with some controversy, especially for comments he made in 2009, calling America a “nation of cowards” when discussing race. Lawmakers also lashed out at his decision to try the 9/11 plotters in New York City. Instead, the terror suspects’ cases were taken up by a military court at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba.

We will have more about Holder’s departure on Thursday’s broadcast.