Holder undecided on staying on as Obama's attorney general

[el_em_en_oh]

(Reuters) - Attorney General Eric Holder said on Thursday he has not decided whether to stay on as the chief U.S. law enforcement officer in President Barack Obama's second term.

Holder, speaking to law students at the University of Baltimore, said he still must speak with Obama and with his own family and ask himself, "Do I have some gas left in the tank?"

"That's something that I'm in the process now of trying to determine," he said.

Several other Obama Cabinet members, including Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, are also weighing whether the start of Obama's second term in January is the right time to leave the administration. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said she intends to leave.

Holder served in the Justice Department's No. 2 position under President Bill Clinton, and Obama appointed him attorney general in 2009.

It is rare for an attorney general to serve more than four years, and Republicans have already tried to oust Holder after a botched operation called "Fast and Furious" that targeted gun trafficking along the United States-Mexico border.

But there is no obvious rush for Holder to leave. Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives said a congressional inquiry into Fast and Furious was political, and the Justice Department's inspector general cleared Holder of any wrongdoing.

SOURCE: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/08/us-usa-campaign-holder-idUSBRE8A715H20121108

[Barb135]

I agree that people tend to stay put, if they are happy with their job and since Obama won again, there's really no reason for them to be leaving.  If Romney had won, I could why they'd be leaving, because he'd have wanted to choose his own people

[brice1967]

If things are going exceptionally well, most people kind of stay put and enjoy the ride.  Holder, in my opinion, has a lot to answer for and I don't think he's up to the task.

[MrsPincince]

Isn't it the norm for people to want to move on? I see nothing wrong with a cabinet shake up. Change is good and sometimes necessary to keep moving forward...

[brice1967]

Nope... It cannot be a bad thing if Holder leaves.

[teko]

I don't find it odd at all. I expect a shift in leadership positions after the last four years. Hillary is leaving as well, but that was the plan from the get go for her. She needs a rest in order to run in 2016 is my guess. My guess is this is only two of the first to shift around and be replaced. After all the hoopla concerning holder, this may not be a bad thing.

[orphanedhawk]

I don't find it odd, it seems like a good time to quit especially if you have your eye on doing something else.
But then again, there could be more to it.
Time will tell.

[Barb135]

Does anyone find it odd that cabinet members would be leaving, just when the President has won a second term?  Could they know something we don't?

[brice1967]

I like Holder.  He knows how to run guns.... not real good at hiding it though.

[el_em_en_oh]

Rats are said to be the first to leave a ship that is sinking...