Breaking: Eric Holder To Step Down As U.S. Attorney General

United States Attorney General Eric Holder will be stepping down from his position, it has been revealed. This according to reports from Justice Department officials, who say that Holder’s departure has been expected for some time.

Holder’s resignation doesn’t come as too much of a surprise. The U.S. Attorney General, who is the first African-American to serve in that position, actually told The New Yorker Magazine earlier this year that he planned to step down by the end of 2014. Now, a Justice Department official tells ABC News that Holder’s resignation is imminent.

According to the report, Holder will remain in his position until a replacement has been found. Holder will reportedly reveal his resignation in a formal announcement later today.

“The attorney general plans to express his personal gratitude to the President for the opportunity to serve in his administration and to lead the Justice Department,” the source said, “which he will call ‘the greatest honor of my professional life.’ He will note he has loved the Justice Department since, when he was a boy, he watched how, under Attorney General Kennedy, the Department played a leadership role in advancing the civil rights movement. During his tenure as Attorney General, Holder has had Attorney General Kennedy’s portrait in his conference room.”

ABC News also notes that Holder has previously hinted that his tenure as Justice Department head would soon draw to a close.

“But I think by the time I get to the end of this year,” Holder said in a recent interview, “that’ll be a time for me to make a decision about whether I want to continue in my service as Attorney General.”

Even as he has attempted to use his position as Attorney General to advance civil rights and other causes, Holder has continually been a lightning rod for criticism. Republicans and conservative commentators have repeatedly called for his ouster over the Fast and Furious program, which saw law enforcement officials intentionally allowing licensed firearms dealers to sell weapons to illegal buyers in hopes of tracking them to Mexican drug cartel leaders. Holder has also drawn criticism for strident comments on race and what critics claim is an overzealousness in using the heft of the Justice Department to weigh in on cases involving race.

[Lead image via The Blaze]