Eric Holder Said to Be Top Pick for Justice Dept.

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Eric Holder Is Top Pick for Attorney General

Eric H. Holder Jr., a former Justice Department official who served as President-elect Barack Obama's campaign co-chairman, is the leading candidate to serve as the next U.S. attorney general, according to Democratic sources.

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As attorney general, Holder would be in charge of a department that has overseen enforcement of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, two of the landmark pieces of legislation affecting blacks and other minorities.

"It's fantastic that he will be a great attorney general," said John Payton, president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. "It's also significant that he will be the first African American attorney general. . . . His mission is going to be to restore the soul of the Department of Justice."

Earlier in his career, Holder flirted with the idea of running for political office, once mulling over a run for D.C. mayor, only to face questions from community leaders as to whether he was "black enough," according to news reports from the mid-1990s.

Holder has a traditional law enforcement background and has advocated an aggressive federal role in enforcing laws regarding health care, civil rights and the environment, as well as more resources to combat violent crime. As a surrogate for the Obama campaign, Holder appeared at a meeting of police chiefs, promising more federal grant money for state and local police.

But in the months leading up to the election, Holder resisted speculation that he would return to government service. Instead, he told reporters that his family would worry about his absence. Holder's wife, Sharon Malone, is a prominent local obstetrician-gynecologist. The couple have three children.

As a prosecutor and judge for more than 25 years, Holder targeted public corruption. While he was the District's U.S. attorney, his office won the conviction of ex-congressman Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.).

Holder was the first African American U.S. attorney in the District and he faced high expectations to value diversity in his promotion practices for the office, an issue that emerged after disaffected black candidates complained to a trade newspaper that they had been passed over for supervisory jobs.

In private practice, Holder helped broker a $650 million settlement between Merck and the government over the pharmaceutical company's alleged failure to pay Medicaid rebates. He defended Chiquita Brands, which paid $25 million to resolve allegations that it made protection payments to rebel and terrorist groups in Colombia. And he represented the National Football League in its review of dogfighting charges against quarterback Michael Vick.

Staff writers Chris Cillizza and Michael A. Fletcher and research editor Alice Crites contributed to this report.