US Secretary of Labor Perez's statement
on the resignation of Attorney General Holder

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez issued the following statement about Eric Holder's announcement of his resignation as Attorney General of the United States:

"Eric Holder is a man of extraordinary conscience and competence. It was a unique honor to serve with him at the Justice Department, and I am enormously grateful for his unwavering commitment to the cause of civil rights and to reinvigorating the Civil Rights Division in particular.

"I am confident that when objective historians write about America's most critical moments, Eric Holder will go down as one of the preeminent attorneys general in our nation's history — whether it's his support of LGBT equality and his indispensable role in the president's decision not to defend the Defense of Marriage Act; or his aggressiveness in ensuring the right to vote; or his commitment to sentencing reform; or his tough crackdown on hate crimes, financial fraud and racial profiling.

"The Justice Department is stronger for his quarter century of service there. The nation is stronger for his lifetime of work on behalf of justice and equal opportunity."