John Cornyn
United States Senator from Texas
Incumbent
Assumed office December 1, 2002[1] Serving with Kay Bailey Hutchison
Preceded by	Phil Gramm
49th Attorney General of Texas
In office January 13, 1999 – December 1, 2002
Governor	George W. Bush (1999-2000) Rick Perry (2000-2002)
Preceded by	Dan Morales
Succeeded by	Greg Abbott
Associate Justice of the Texas Supreme Court
In office January 2, 1991 – October 18, 1997
Governor	Ann Richards (1991-1995) George W. Bush (1995-1997)
Preceded by	Franklin S. Spears
Succeeded by	Deborah Hankinson
Personal details
Born	John Cornyn III (1952-02-02) February 2, 1952 (age 60) Houston, Texas, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Sandy Cornyn; 2 children
Residence	Austin, Texas, U.S.
Alma mater	Trinity University (B.A.) St. Mary's University (J.D.) University of Virginia (LL.M.)
Occupation	Attorney
Religion	Church of Christ
Website	www.cornyn.senate.gov

John Cornyn III (born February 2, 1952) is the junior United States Senator for Texas, serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party. He was elected Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee for the 111th U.S. Congress.^[2]

John Cornyn was voted one of the "most conservative congressman" by the National Journal in 2010. ^[3]

Early life, education, and legal career[link]

Cornyn was born in Houston, the son of Atholene Gale Cornyn (née Danley) and John Cornyn II, a colonel in the U.S.A.F.^[4] He graduated from Trinity University in 1973, where he majored in journalism and was a member of Chi Delta Tau.^[5][6] He earned a J.D. from St. Mary's University School of Law in 1977 and an LL.M. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1995.^[7][8]

He served in San Antonio for six years as a district judge before being elected as a Republican in 1990 to the Texas Supreme Court, on which he served for seven years.

Attorney General[link]

1998 election[link]

In 1998, Cornyn decided to run to become Texas Attorney General. In the March primary, Barry Williamson, Railroad Commissioner, placed first with 38% of the vote but failed to get the 50% threshold necessary to win the Republican nomination. Cornyn, then-State Supreme Court Justice, got second place with 32% and Tom Pauken, former Chairman of the Texas Republican party, got third place with 30%.^[9] In the April run-off election, Cornyn defeated Williamson 58% to 42%.^[10] In the general election, Cornyn defeated Jim Mattox, former U.S. Congressman and Attorney General (1983–1991), with 54% of the vote.^[11] Cornyn became only the second Republican to have held the position.

Accomplishments[link]

His office organized a consumer fraud to target improper business practices. He fought energy companies accused of underpaying royalties and environmental violations. He enforced child-support laws, such as penalizing deadbeat dads. He also created the Texas Internet Bureau to investigate illegal internet practices. He has fought against government waste and corruption with his investigation of fraudulent Medicare and Medicaid claims.^[12]

In 2005, Cornyn's name was mentioned among possibilities to replace Supreme Court justices Sandra Day O'Connor or William Rehnquist.^[13]

U.S. Senate[link]

Elections[link]

2002

In the 2002 U.S. Senate Primary in Texas, Cornyn was the candidate promoted and supported by the Texas Republican Party in the Primary election. He easily defeated the five other candidates in the Republican Primary while disdaining the opportunity to debate the other candidates. Cornyn defeated his closest Republican challenger, Bruce Rusty Lang, a self-financed Dallas based international physician, in the Republican Primary election by a ten to one electoral margin. In the 2002 General election Candidate Cornyn defeated Democrat Ron Kirk in a campaign that cost each candidate over $18,000,000.^{[citation needed]}

2008

Texas has not elected a Democrat in a statewide election since 1994, and according to Rasmussen polling, in October 2008 Cornyn had an approval rating of 50%.^[14] Texas House of Representatives member/Afghanistan War veteran Rick Noriega secured his place as Cornyn's Democratic challenger in the March 4 primary, beating out opponents Gene Kelly, Ray McMurrey, and Rhett Smith. The same Rasmussen poll showed Cornyn leading Noriega 47% to 43%, suggesting that this race might have proved to be unexpectedly competitive. However, most polls showed a much wider margin. Christian activist Larry Kilgore of Mansfield, was a Republican challenger for the March 2008 primary election, but Cornyn easily won the Republican primary.^[15]

Yvonne Adams Schick was the Libertarian Party's nominee.^[16] In addition, the Green Party of Texas sought ballot access for its candidate David B. Collins.^[17]

Tenure[link]

In 2004, Cornyn co-founded and became the co-chairman of the U.S. Senate India Caucus.^[18] Cornyn was selected by his colleagues in December 2006 to be a member of the five-person Republican Senate leadership team as Vice Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference.^[19]

Cornyn has received various awards and recognitions, including the 2005 Border Texan of the Year Award; the National Child Support Enforcement Association's Children's Champion Award; the American Farm Bureau Federation's Friend of Farm Bureau Award; the Texas Association of Business's (TAB) Fighter for Free Enterprise Award; the National Federation of Independent Business's (NFIB) Guardian of Small Business Award; the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders's (CONLAMIC) Latino Leadership Award; and the Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce's (TAMACC) International Leadership Legislative Award; among others.^{[citation needed]}

In 2005, Cornyn gained notice by connecting the Supreme Court's reluctance to hear arguments for sustaining Terri Schiavo's life with the recent murders of Judge Joan Lefkow's husband and mother as well as that of Judge Rowland Barnes. "I don't know if there is a cause-and-effect connection, but we have seen some recent episodes of courthouse violence in this country. I wonder whether there may be some connection between the perception in some quarters on some occasions where judges are making political decisions yet are unaccountable to the public, that it builds up and builds up and building up to the point where some people engage in violence."^[20] His statement and a similar one by House Majority Leader Tom Delay were widely denounced, including The New York Times.^[21] Cornyn later said that he regretted the statement.^[22]

In 2005, Project on Government Oversight, a government watchdog group, presented Cornyn and Senator Patrick Leahy with its first ever Bi-Partisan Leadership Award in honor of their cooperation on issues of government oversight and transparency, including their co-sponsorship of the OPEN Government Act of 2005, which prevented burying exemptions from the Freedom of Information Act in legislation.^[23]

Cornyn has been described by Jim Jubak of MSN Money as one of "Big Oil's ten favorite members of Congress", as he has received more money from the oil and gas industry than all but six other members of Congress.^[24]

On the day of Obama's inauguration, it was reported that Cornyn would prevent Hillary Rodham Clinton from being confirmed as secretary of state by a unanimous floor vote that day. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's spokesman reported to the Associated Press that a roll call vote would be held instead on the following day, January 21, 2009, for the Clinton confirmation and that it was expected Clinton would "receive overwhelming bipartisan support".^[25] The vote was 94-2 in her favor, with only Senators Jim DeMint (R-SC) and David Vitter (R-LA) voting in opposition.^[26]

Cornyn also took the lead on resisting the nomination of Eric Holder for Attorney General, attempting to set up hypothetical questions which would have supported the use of torture. During the nomination hearings, Holder rejected the premise of that line of questioning and declined to endorse waterboarding as a legitimate law enforcement or national security tool.^[27]

As chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Cornyn was a strong supporter of Norm Coleman's various court challenges to the election certification.^[28] Cornyn advocated for Coleman to bring the case before the federal court, and had said the trial and appeals could take years to complete.^[29] Cornyn had threatened that Republicans would wage a "World War III" if the Senate Democrats had attempted to seat Franken before the appeals were complete.^[30] Coleman conceded after the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled in favor of Franken.

Committee assignments[link]

• Committee on Armed Services
• Committee on the Budget
• Committee on Finance
  • Subcommittee on Health Care
  • Subcommittee on Taxation, IRS Oversight, and Long-Term Growth
  • Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure
• Committee on the Judiciary
  • Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights
  • Subcommittee on the Constitution
  • Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security (Ranking Member)
  • Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security

Political positions[link]

Cornyn was ranked by National Journal as the seventeenth-most conservative United States Senator in their 2008 rankings.^[31] He was considered by the Dallas Morning News to be a reliable ally of former President George W. Bush on most issues.^[32]

Civil rights and law enforcement[link]

In the 2004 debate surrounding the Federal Marriage Amendment, Cornyn released an advance copy of a speech he was to give at the Heritage Foundation. In the speech, he wrote, "It does not affect your daily life very much if your neighbor marries a box turtle. But that does not mean it is right.... Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife." He removed the reference to the box turtle in the actual speech, but the Washington Post ran the quote, as did The Daily Show.^[33][34]

Cornyn sponsored a bill that would allow law enforcement to force anyone arrested or detained to provide samples of their DNA, which would be recorded in a central database.^[35] He voted to recommend a constitutional ban on flag desecration and for a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman. He also voted for the reauthorization of the PATRIOT Act and extending its wiretap provision. He is rated "A" by the National Rifle Association.^[36] Cornyn said on December 20, 2005: "None of your civil liberties matter much after you're dead" in a speech supporting reauthorizing the PATRIOT Act.^[37]

Defense and homeland security[link]

In 2005, Cornyn voted against additional funding for up-armored vehicles to protect troops in Afghanistan & Iraq. Cornyn voted against removing troops from Iraq by July 2007, and he later voted against removing them by March 2008. He voted against implementing the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Report and restoring $565 million for states' and ports' first responders. He also voted against restricting businesses with ties to terrorism. He voted against preserving habeas corpus for Guantanamo detainees. Cornyn was one of only 22 Senators to vote against the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 that expands the educational benefits for soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.^[38] Instead, he co-sponsored SB 2938, which gives benefits that are dependent on length of service.^{[citation needed]}

Social policy[link]

He voted to ban partial-birth abortions except in cases where the mother's life was in danger and for a criminal penalty for harming a fetus while committing another crime. He also voted in favor of notifying parents of minors who get out-of-state abortions. He voted against expanding research to more embryonic stem cell lines.^[36] He voted to prevent contributions to organizations that provide abortion as a component of family planning, and to prevent funding of organizations that support coercive abortion.^[39]

Cornyn voted to confirm Samuel Alito as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States and John Roberts for Chief Justice of the United States.^[36] In September 2005, during the Supreme Court hearings for Roberts, Cornyn's staff passed out bingo cards to reporters. He asked them to stamp their card every time a Democrat on the Judiciary Committee used terms such as "far right" or "extremist".^[40]

On July 24, 2009, Cornyn announced his intention to vote against President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, citing his opinion that she might rule "from a liberal, activist perspective".^[41]

Fiscal policy[link]

John Cornyn voted to permanently repeal the estate tax and for raising the estate tax exemption to $5 million. He voted in favor of $350 billion in tax cuts over 11 years and supports making the George W. Bush tax cuts permanent.^[36] However, he stands opposed to extending the 2011 payroll tax holiday.^[42]. For reference, the Bush tax cuts favor unearned income by providing a capital gains tax rate of 15%, while the payroll tax only applies to the first $110k of earned income, and thus constitutes a larger portion of the income of (a)those whose income is classified as "earned income" and (b) those who make $110k per year or less.

Cornyn is a cosponsor of the Fair Tax Act of 2007,^[43] but the use of the word "fair" in relation to this act is controversial, as it has been called into question by non-partisan sources such as FactCheck.org.^[44] Specifically, FactCheck.org states "We found that while there are several good economic arguments for the FairTax, unless you earn more than $200,000 per year, fairness is not one of them." John Cornyn also voted for the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 but against the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009.

In 2005, Cornyn voted against including oil and gas smokestacks in mercury regulations. He voted against factoring global warming into federal project planning, and against banning drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He voted against reducing oil usage by 40%, rather than by 5%. He also voted against removing oil and gas exploration subsidies.^[36] During his tenure in the Senate, Cornyn has scored 0% on the League of Conservation Voters' environmental scorecard, a system of ranking politicians according to their voting record on environmental legislation.^[45]

Cornyn opposed President Barack Obama's health reform legislation; he voted against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in December 2009,^[46] and he voted against the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.^[47]

Electoral history[link]

Personal life[link]

Cornyn and his wife, Sandy Hansen, have two daughters.

Cornyn gained national attention when he released a video referring to himself as "Big Bad John". The video was featured on comedy shows such as The Colbert Report and The Daily Show.

In 1999, Cornyn, as state attorney general, awarded "Lawman of the Year" to free-lance, discredited undercover officer Tom Coleman, for his work in Tulia, Texas.^[48][49] This work resulted in the "Tulia 46" scandal.

Sources[link]

• "Office of the Secretary of State". http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist.exe. Retrieved September 19, 2007. </ref>

References[link]

External links[link]

• Senator John Cornyn official U.S. Senate site
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at the National Institute for Money in State Politics
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Cornyn Profile at SourceWatch

v t e United States Senators from Texas Class 1 Rusk Henderson Ward Wigfall Flanagan Maxey Reagan Chilton Mills Culberson Mayfield Connally Daniel Blakley Yarborough Bentsen Krueger Hutchison Class 2 S. Houston Hemphill Hamilton Coke Chilton Bailey Johnston Sheppard A. Houston O'Daniel Johnson Blakley Tower Gramm Cornyn

Eric Holder
82nd United States Attorney General
Incumbent
Assumed office February 3, 2009
President	Barack Obama
Deputy	David Ogden James Cole
Preceded by	Michael Mukasey
Deputy Attorney General of the United States
In office June 13, 1997 – January 20, 2001
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Jamie Gorelick
Succeeded by	Larry Thompson
United States Attorney for the District of Columbia
In office October 1993 – June 13, 1997
Nominated by	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	J. Ramsey Johnson[1]
Associate Judge on Superior Court of the District of Columbia
In office October 1988 – October 1993
Nominated by	Ronald Reagan
Personal details
Born	Eric Himpton Holder, Jr. (1951-01-21) January 21, 1951 (age 61) Bronx, New York, U.S.
Political party	Democratic Party
Spouse(s)	Sharon Malone
Children	Maya Brooke Eric
Alma mater	Columbia University (A.B.) Columbia Law School (J.D.)
Profession	Attorney at Law
Religion	Episcopal

Eric Himpton Holder, Jr. (born January 21, 1951) is the 82nd and current Attorney General of the United States and the first black American to hold the position,^[2] serving under President Barack Obama.

Holder previously served as a judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and a United States Attorney. In that office he prosecuted Congressman Dan Rostenkowski (Democrat, Illinois) for corruption charges related to his role in the Congressional Post Office scandal. Later, he was Deputy Attorney General of the United States and worked at the law firm of Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C. He was senior legal advisor to then-Senator Barack Obama during Obama's presidential campaign and one of three members of Obama's vice-presidential selection committee.

Early life[link]

Eric Himpton Holder, Jr. was born in the Bronx, New York, to parents with roots in Barbados.^{[3][4][dead link][5]} Holder's father, Eric Himpton Holder, Sr. (1905–1970) was born in Saint Joseph, Barbados and arrived in the United States at the age of 11.^[6][7] He later became a real estate broker. His mother, Miriam, was born in New Jersey, while his maternal grandparents were immigrants from Saint Philip, Barbados.^[7] Holder grew up in East Elmhurst, Queens, and attended public school until the age of 10. When entering the 4th grade he was selected to participate in a program for intellectually gifted students.^[8] In 1969, he graduated from Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan and attended Columbia University, where he played freshman basketball and was co-captain of his team. He earned a A.B. degree in American history in 1973.^[9] Holder received his Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School, graduating in 1976. He worked for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund during his first summer and the United States Attorney during his second summer.^[8]

Career[link]

After graduating from law school, Holder joined the U.S. Justice Department's new Public Integrity Section during an interval lasting from 1976 to 1988. During his time there, he assisted in the prosecution of Democratic Congressman John Jenrette for bribery discovered in the Abscam sting operation.^[10] In 1988, President Ronald Reagan appointed Holder to serve as a judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.^[11]

Holder stepped down from the bench in 1993 to accept an appointment as United States Attorney for the District of Columbia from President Bill Clinton. He was the first black American U.S. Attorney in that office.^[8] At the beginning of his tenure, he oversaw the conclusion of the corruption case against Dan Rostenkowski, part of the Congressional Post Office scandal.^[10] He was a U.S. Attorney until his elevation to Deputy Attorney General in 1997. Holder also served on The George Washington University's Board of Trustees in 1996 and 1997.

Deputy Attorney General[link]

In 1997, after the retirement of Jamie Gorelick, Clinton nominated Holder to be the Deputy Attorney General under Janet Reno. Holder was confirmed several months later in the Senate by a unanimous vote.^[12] During his confirmation hearing, Holder's opposition to the death penalty was questioned, but he pledged his intention to cooperate with the current laws and Reno, saying, "I am not a proponent of the death penalty, but I will enforce the law as this Congress gives it to us."^[13] Holder was the first black American to serve in that position.^[8] Holder briefly served as Acting Attorney General under President George W. Bush until the Senate confirmed Bush's nominee John Ashcroft.^[14]

As Deputy Attorney General, Holder advised Reno about how far to go in the Justice Department's use of the Independent Counsel statute. Reno made the decision to permit Kenneth Starr to expand his investigation into the Lewinsky affair, leading to Clinton's impeachment.^[8]

In his final days with the Clinton administration, Holder was involved with Clinton's last-minute pardon of fugitive and Democratic contributor Marc Rich. Between November 2000 and January 2001, Jack Quinn, Rich's lawyer and former White House Counsel from 1995 to 1996, had been contacting Holder, testing the waters for the political viability of a presidential pardon. Quinn asked Holder for advice as to how he should proceed. According to Rich's attorney, Holder advised Quinn to circumvent standard procedures by submitting the pardon petition directly to the White House.^[15]

After presenting his case to Holder in a November phone call and a last minute January 17 letter, Quinn arranged a phone call between the White House and Holder, asking the Deputy Attorney General to share his opinion on the Rich pardon. Holder gave Clinton a "neutral, leaning towards favorable" opinion of the pardon.^[8]

Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder opened an Interagency Working Group meeting of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders hosted by the Department of Justice on October 18, 2000.

During his February testimonies before the House Government Reform Committee and Senate Judiciary Committee, Holder argued his phone call was not intended as a formal Justice Department blessing of the pardon, saying, "my interaction with the White House, I did not view as a recommendation. because I didn't have the ability to look at all the materials that had been vetted through the way we normally vet materials."^[16] He also did not believe his opinion would be interpreted as a go-ahead for the pardon. "What I said to the White House counsel ultimately was that I was neutral on this because I didn't have a factual basis to make a determination as to whether or not Mr. Quinn's contentions were in fact accurate, whether or not there had been a change in the law, a change in the applicable Justice Department regulations, and whether or not that was something that would justify the extraordinary grant of a pardon."^[17] An investigation led by House Government Reform Committee chairman Dan Burton concluded in a 2003 report covering 177 Clinton pardons that Holder had played a significant role in facilitating the Rich pardon, first by recommending the well-connected Jack Quinn to Rich's legal representatives, by failing to fully inform prosecutors of the pending pardon, and by eventually delivering a "neutral leaning favorable" opinion to Clinton from a position of authority.^[18] Holder has expressed some regret over his handling of the Rich pardon, stating "I wish I had done some things differently with regard to the Marc Rich matter. Specifically, I wish that I had ensured that the Department of Justice was more fully informed and involved in this pardon process", and called his own actions a "mistake".^[19]

Official photo as Deputy Attorney General, ca. 2000

Holder was also involved in Clinton's decision to reduce the criminal sentences of 16 members of the Boricua Popular Army, an organization that has been categorized by the FBI as a terrorist organization. The clemency request was initially opposed in 1996 by U.S. Pardons Attorney Margaret Love. When Holder was elevated to Deputy Attorney General in 1997, he was asked to reexamine the issue by three members of Congress. In July 1999, Holder recommended clemency to Clinton with a report from then U.S. Pardons Attorney Roger Adams that neither supported nor opposed clemency. A month later, Clinton granted clemency. According to The Hartford Courant, the grant of clemency was unusual because it was opposed by the FBI, the federal prosecutor and the victims. According to the newspaper, it was also unusual because before the commutations, the Boricua Popular Army members were not required to repudiate their actions and were not asked to provide any information concerning the whereabouts of Victor Manuel Gerena, a co-conspirator and one of the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, or the millions of dollars stolen by the group in a 1983 robbery of Wells Fargo in West Hartford, Connecticut.^[20]

Private practice[link]

From 2001 until he became Attorney General, Holder worked as an attorney at Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C., representing clients such as Merck and the National Football League.^[3][8] He represented the NFL during its dog fighting investigation against Michael Vick.^[21]

In 2004, Holder helped negotiate an agreement with the Justice Department for Chiquita Brands International in a case that involved Chiquita's payment of "protection money" to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, a group on the U.S. government's list of terrorist organizations.^[22][23] In the agreement, Chiquita's officials pleaded guilty and paid a fine of $25 million. Holder represented Chiquita in the civil action that grew out of this criminal case.^[23]

In March 2004, Holder and Covington & Burling were hired by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich to act as a special investigator to the Illinois Gaming Board. The Gaming Board had voted 4-1 earlier that month to allow a casino to be built in Rosemont, Illinois. That vote defied the recommendation of the board's staff, which had raised concerns about alleged organized-crime links to the Rosemont casino's developer. The move had also raised concerns that the governor had named his close friend and fund-raiser, Christopher Kelly, as a "special government agent" to be involved in official state negotiations about the casino. Holder's legal work for the State of Illinois never materialized when the board reversed its decision and refused to hire Kelly. The investigation was subsequently canceled on May 18, 2004.^[24]

The firm represented Guantanamo inmates but Holder "never participated directly in the firm's Guantanamo work", and is not expected to recuse himself from matters pertaining to it.^[25]

While D.C. v. Heller was being heard by the Supreme Court in 2008, Holder joined the Reno-led amicus brief, which urged the Supreme Court to uphold Washington, D.C.'s handgun ban and said the position of the Department of Justice, from Franklin Roosevelt through Clinton, was that the Second Amendment does not protect an individual right to keep and bear arms for purposes unrelated to a State’s operation of a well-regulated militia.^[26] Holder said that overturning the 1976 law "opens the door to more people having more access to guns and putting guns on the streets."^[27]

In 2008, Holder represented the wife of Robert Wone, victim of a controversial and unsolved 2006 murder.^[28]

Holder speaking at a press conference on Guantanamo Bay detainees

In late 2007, Holder joined then-United States Senator Barack Obama's presidential campaign as a senior legal advisor. He served on Obama's vice presidential selection committee.^[11]

Holder favors closing the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, although he said in 2002 that the detainees are not technically entitled to Geneva Convention protections.^[29][30] He is opposed to the Bush administration's implementation of the Patriot Act, saying it is "bad ultimately for law enforcement and will cost us the support of the American people."^[31][32] He has been critical of Enhanced interrogation techniques and the NSA warrantless surveillance program, accusing the Bush administration of a "disrespect for the rule of law... [that is] not only wrong, it is destructive in our struggle against terrorism."^[33]

Attorney General of the United States[link]

On December 1, 2008, Obama announced that Holder would be his nominee for Attorney General.^[34][35] He was formally nominated on January 20, 2009 and approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee on January 28.^[36][37] Following his confirmation by the full Senate on February 2, 2009, he became the first African-American Attorney General of the United States. His installation took place on March 27, 2009 at the Lisner Auditorium of the George Washington University.

During his confirmation hearings in the Senate, Holder agreed with Senator Patrick Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, that a technique used by U.S. interrogators under the Bush administration known as waterboarding is torture.^[38] Holder was confirmed by a 75-21 vote on February 2, 2009.^[39]

Holder gave a speech on race relations on February 18, 2009, in the midst of Black History Month. "Though race-related issues continue to occupy a significant portion of our political discussion and though there remain many unresolved racial issues in this nation, we average Americans simply do not talk enough with each other about race," he said.^[40] The speech stirred mild controversy, with some reacting favorably to Holder's comments and others sharply criticizing them.^[41][42] Obama rebuked Holder's comments, saying that “I think it’s fair to say that if I had been advising my attorney general, we would have used different language”.^[43]

When questioned about weapons regulations during a news conference to announce the arrest of Mexican drug cartel members, Holder stated that the Obama administration would seek to re-institute the expired Assault Weapons Ban, which he strongly supports.^[44][45]