Senator Patrick Leahy is praising President-elect Barack Obama’s reported pick to be the next attorney general of the United States.
Leahy says Eric Holder would make an outstanding nominee, and he should have the support of both Democrats and Republicans.
Leahy is a Democrat who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The 57-year-old Holder would be the nation’s first African American attorney general.
Holder served as deputy Attorney General under former President Clinton. On Clinton’s last day in office in 2001 Holder signed off on a presidential pardon for Marc Rich, a wealthy commodities dealer who had spent years running from tax charges.