Eric Holder Drops a Hint About His Plans for Presidential Bid in 2020
Former Attorney General Eric Holder won’t rule out running for president in 2020, the Obama-era Cabinet official revealed Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast, Holder said he would likely make a decision about a future run for political office by the end of the year.
“We’ll see, Holder said in response to a question about whether he was considering a White House run, according to CNBC.
The former attorney general indicated that right now, he is focused on his work leading the National Democratic Redistricting Committee. That group, backed politically by former President Barack Obama, is attempting to redraw congressional districts to push back on Republican gains.
“I’ll see,” Holder replied when asked about a future run for office, as reported by The Hill. “I’m focused on the NDRC at this point.”
“I think I’ll make a decision by the end of the year about whether or not there is another chapter in my government service,” he said.
In addition to serving in Obama’s Cabinet from 2009 to 2015, Holder is a former judge and United States attorney for the District of Columbia. He also has almost ten years of experience working as an attorney in the private sector.
However, a Holder candidacy would not come without significant controversy due to his role in the Obama administration scandal known as Operation Fast and Furious.
In 2010, Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was killed by suspected illegal immigrants while patrolling the border in the Arizona desert. Guns used by the cartel-linked members were found to have been illegally purchased from the U.S. government.
Investigations by several congressional committees discovered appalling details about the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ illegal gun sales to members of drug cartels in an effort to track the sellers and purchasers of firearms, according to CNN.
The congressional inquiries ultimately led to Holder being cited for criminal contempt in 2012.
Holder eventually stepped down from his Cabinet role in 2015, but has re-emerged as a fierce critic of President Donald Trump.
At the Christian Science Monitor breakfast on Wednesday, he indicated that special counsel counsel Robert Mueller — who is investigating alleged Russian collusion in the 2016 election — might be able to prosecute Trump for obstruction of justice.
“Is there a technical case there now?” Holder said in response to a question from Politico. “I think so. Now.”
Still, he emphasized that Mueller would have to build a strong case.
“If you’re a prosecutor, you make sure that you are building the best case. Not a technical case, but the best case, you know, that you can,” he said.
Holder also criticized Trump for the way he has “attacked” officials at the Department of Justice and the DOJ.
“I would hope that the president would rethink the way in which he has attacked career people at the FBI, career people in the Justice Department, (and) career people in our intelligence community,” Holder said.
Holder is not the only former Obama-era Cabinet official to consider a 2020 presidential run.
As The Western Journal reported, Julián Castro, who served as the secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 2014 to 2017, is set to be the headline speaker at the New Hampshire Young Democrats’ annual Granite Slate Awards Dinner on Feb. 16.
The Granite State holds the first presidential primary contest of the presidential election cycle, following the Iowa caucuses. In addition to speaking at the event, the 43-year-old Castro recently launched the Opportunity First political action committee, which he formed last year.
These moves have sparked speculation regarding his future political plans.
“I have every interest in running” for president, Castro told NBC News. “Part of the process of figuring out whether I’m going to run is going to listen to folks and feel the temperature” of the voters.
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